


Rewriting the game rules

by EstrellaLeMar



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chat Logs, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Long Shot, M/M, NG+, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Redemption, Romance, Slow Burn, Spoilers For The Entire Game, wildcards remember
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 82,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24637555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstrellaLeMar/pseuds/EstrellaLeMar
Summary: Some people joke that life is a game. Akechi Goro knew better then anyone how accurate that was. He'd played his game and lost, only to have it looped back. Restarted, but at a point where he was already trapped into playing the villain. Was there a way to change the game, rewrite the rules? Or would this game just keep repeating again, and again?He didn't know, and as far as he knew... no one else remembered.Meanwhile, Kurusu Akira does remember, and thinks he's the only one. He's lonely, feeling the loss of the close friendships he'd formed in Tokyo. At the same time... hopeful. Could he redeem the one team member he'd lost?Could he rescue the man he'd fallen in love with, despite knowing that guy was just going to betray him in the end?
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 146
Kudos: 604





	1. Strive to Survive

Chains rattled against the floor as hands were lifted to a weary face, face rubbed with a groan. There was a wheeze as the young man sat up, glaring down at the shackles on his hands, noting the blood dripping down his black and white prison garb. “So. Here. Again.” He rose, shuffling over to the cell door, legs weighted down by the chains slithering after him. He lifted his hands, resting them against the solid cell door. He rose on his tiptoes, looking out through the tiny window of the solitary cell. “What do you want this time, nose?”

“You failed.” The man with the long nose sighed, as if he were greatly disappointed. “You had a very simple mission, and you almost completed it. In the end though, you failed. You know why, don’t you?”

Hands pressed against the door before falling to the prisoner’s sides, leaving bloody marks in their place. “I know why, and I know that if that is a failure, I hope to fail every time.”

The nose chuckled, smirking. “Is that so? So… you want to die? You want to betray him again and again. Almost kill him, then get killed yourself?”

The nose was met by silence as the prisoner glared at him through the small window.

“You thought you killed him in the interrogation chamber, but you failed.” The grinning man rose from his desk, stalking forward to the other side of the door like some coyote sniffing outside a henhouse. Eager for a kill. “You were eager to kill him then.”

“No! No, I wasn’t. I didn’t want to… but…” but he’d been blinded by rage. Had trouble thinking clearly.

The nose laughed. “You’re conflicted.” He grinned, “You hide your true self from the world, and put on a show of bravado. Make everyone think you’re happy and fine. Deep down you are dark, twisted. Worthless. You don’t know what you want. Will you ever?” He sneered at the prisoner.

“End this damn game Igor,” the prisoner growled. “This has gone on long enough!”

“Has it?” Igor hummed. “I don’t think it has. This game… it will continue. Again, and again, and again. Until one of you wins. One of you succeeds. All you have to do is kill him. Is that really so hard?”

“And what if I refuse to play?” The prisoner’s glare intensified.

“If you refuse to play, then I have no need for him.” Igor shrugged. “I will dispose of him, like the trash he is.”

The prisoner lunged forward, throwing his weight against the door to try and force it open. Like all times he’d tried in the past, the door didn’t budge. “You wouldn’t!”

“I would.” Igor chuckled, seeming rather pleased with himself. “Oh, I would. I rather like this game, you see. In the end, one side has to win. I won’t let you out of the game so easily. The die is cast, the game begun. You have no way out, Akechi Goro. Accept it.”

“Accept it.” Akechi closed his eyes, “If I withdraw from the game, he dies… and I go free?”

“Mmm… yes.”

“… but if I play this game, I have to kill him to win?”

“Simply put, yes,” Igor confirmed.

“… you’re a bastard, you know that?” Akechi glared at the nose then turned, a pained hiss escaping as he felt another jolt of pain.

“You’re dying.” Igor chuckled, “I had planned to execute you myself but… that cognition of yours already did a lot of damage, didn’t it?”

“I’m not out yet.” Akechi shot Igor a glare. “Let me go,” he ordered. “I have work to do.”

“Oh, indeed you do.” Igor chuckled, his grin spreading even further. “Indeed you do.”

Akechi sank down onto the prisoner’s bed, staring at his hands a moment before closing his eyes. The Velvet room vanishing around him as he returned to reality.

In an area behind the Diet building, Akechi Goro sucked in a ragged breath as he turned onto his knees. He wheezed, then coughed. Coughing up blood. His hands trembled as he lifted them, seeing the fresh blood on his gloves. Feeling the blood soaking his shirt, seeing it dripping to the ground. “D-damn it…” was this really it? Was he going to die?

No. No… he couldn’t… couldn’t die here. Where could he go, though? If he went to a regular hospital everyone in Shido’s party would find out and quickly. He had to get somewhere… somewhere else.

His smartphone was tugged out of his pocket, stared at for a moment. He pursed his lips then called a taxi. A local driver named Maruki that had given him rides in the past. The guy worked as a counselor and as a taxi driver. Likely the taxi job actually got him more money.

When the man arrived, his concern was obvious. “Are you alright?” He got out of the taxi, moving to Akechi to help him.

“I… I’ll be fine,” Akechi dragged himself to his feet. “I need to get… get to Yongen-Jaya. To the doctor there.” He glanced at his smart phone once more then tossed it onto the ground, stomping on it once.

Maruki frowned, watching as the cell phone was smashed. Noting the way Akechi was bleeding so heavily. “Are you sure? You look like you need to emergency room mo-“

“Just take me there,” Akechi snapped, sinking into the back seat, listening as the man shut the door behind him then moved into the front seat. “Just… just take me there damn it. I’ll pay triple your fee if you get me there fast, then damn well forget you ever saw me. Am I clear?”

Maruki pursed his lips then nodded, putting the taxi into drive and taking off.

Somewhere along the drive, Akechi passed out. He wasn’t sure when, but when he roused, he was being carried into the clinic by the taxi driver. “I can walk,” he insisted.

“I’m not so sure you can,” Maruki nudged the clinic door open with his elbow, carrying Akechi inside. “Doctor, we need some help.”

“Sorry, I’m closed.” Dr. Tae Takemi paused as she looked up from her clipboard, eyes narrowing some as she saw Akechi. “He should go to an emergency room.”

“NO. No… please, doc… j-just-“ Akechi wheezed, vision blurring some as he clung to consciousness, trying to stay in the moment.

Maruki sighed. “I said the same doctor. He insisted I bring him here, even said he’d pay me triple to forget I brought him here.” He shook his head, “Even if I did take him to the emergency room now… I’m not sure he’d survive that long…”

“Bring him in.” She sighed, rising and coming around. She held the door for the man, watching as Maruki set the detective prince on the bed. “Do you mind staying for a moment? I might end up having you take him somewhere else.” She started to check on the boy, trying to figure out what was worst right now. 

“I can’t,” Akechi coughed again, some blood dribbling down his cheek. “I can’t go anywhere else. Shido…” his eyes closed a moment before he forced them open again. “I go somewhere… somewhere public, everyone will know… Shido will know. His people. I… I’d be dead within a week. Even…” he wheezed, “Even if I s-survive this. Doc… name a price, but keep this secret. Please. No one… not… not even Akira and… and the others… can know…” he wheezed again before passing out.

The doctor cursed and moved forward. “Pass me that-“ she started giving Maruki orders as she got to work. The two adults fighting to save the detective prince’s life.

=-=

Voices. Different conversations faded in and out.

“Maruki, are you sure? Maybe he should stay here.”

“I’m certain doctor, I don’t mind one bit. Besides, it’s not like we can send him home. He stressed not wanting any of those teens finding out. One of them visits here often, doesn’t he?”

A deep sigh. “You’re right. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. But not now. In the morning. He’s not stable enough…”

“Then I’ll spend the night here with him.”

“I’m the doctor, I should be doing that.”

“As the doctor you have to work during the day. Let me watch over him.”

“Don’t let him die Maruki.”

“… trust me, I won’t.”

Akechi’s eyes moved behind his lids as if he were struggling to wake before he was pulled under once more. His body in too much trauma to stay aware.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Well, he’s my patient. If he’s staying at your home, I needed to see it for myself,” a huff.

“Well, look around. I’m going to set him on the bed…”

“You only have one bed.”

“I don’t mind using the couch. He needs the bed more than I do.”

Cool liquid against his lips. The sensation of swallowing. Akechi processed that he was eating something, but beyond that he didn’t know…

“It’s been five days…”

“He’s stable at least. Blood pressure is good, and I did blood tests. Nothing. He should be waking up soon but…”

“But it’s impossible to say with something like this. I know.”

“I’ll check in again tomorrow, Maruki. I’m surprised. The detective prince was so popular only weeks ago, but there hasn’t been a word said about the fact he’s vanished.”

“Why would there be? The Phantom Thieves just exposed Shido. With the media full of the election results and the scandal…” Maruki sighed. “The media is a fickle thing.”

“Akira thinks he’s dead. His whole group does. I should tell them.”

“He asked you not to.”

“… I know. And because I’m his doctor I’m bound to that. Doctor patient… but it feels like he’d recover better, if he had some support.”

“He has no family?” Maruki questioned.

“None that I know of. He’s a foster kid. I looked it up, trying to see if there was anyone I should call. The man that’s his current guardian gets paid for giving him a home and shelter, but hasn’t actually seen the boy in years. Akechi’s been supporting himself, living completely on his own.”

“Any friends?”

“Not that I can tell. Not outside of Akira, and the others.” Tae sighed. “Well… hopefully he’ll come to soon.”

“Hopefully,” Maruki agreed. “Hopefully.”

A strange warmth, then a weird sensation. Voices in his mind. ‘Wake up damn it!’ Loki. ‘Come on, you need to wake up.’ Robin. ‘Are you just going to take this? They need you!’ Loki again. Who needed him? Why? The one person… the one person he longed for, the one person he admired… no… adored. That person must hate him. He still remembered…

‘We have to move forward or we lose everything. If you don’t continue this damn game, that bastard will kill Akira!’ Loki fumed.

‘He’s right. The nose would kill Akira. We can’t have that now can we?’ Robin said.

No… they couldn’t have that. He had… had to make sure Akira survived. Had to make sure he survived this whole damn mess. That he won. If he won, it would be done with. He wouldn’t be in danger again. If Akira lost, they’d both have to repeat this mess.

Had they already repeated it once? In some ways… some ways it felt like they had. The past several months had been a continual sensation like he’d done it all before. Now, now things felt different. Finally felt… felt different. Why? Had life fallen into a pattern of everything just feeling the same, or had time started to loop?

Had they already played this game, before?

He was pulled back into the land of dreams as his mind dwelt on that question.

“It’s been seven days now. Maybe I should send him to an emergency room. You’ve missed a lot of work to take care of him. That’s not fair to you.”

“I don’t mind,” a sigh, “I just wish he’d wake up. I’m starting to worry that he’ll never wake u-“

Akechi wheezed, then sucked in a slow breath of air as his eyes blinked open. Lips moving, trying to form words that just didn’t seem to want to come out. He felt a pair of hands on him, helping him sit up. Cool glass pressed against his lips. He drank the water eagerly, his throat and lips feeling dry. “How… how long?” He rasped. 

“Seven days.” Tae lifted his chin gently, checking his eyes, then his tongue. Eyes sharp, looking for anything off. “Welcome back. You gave us a scare.”

Akechi grimaced. “Didn’t mean to. Not that it matters now.” He squeezed his eyes shut a moment before trying to rise, stumbling into Maruki's arms as he did.

“Easy. You’re not up to going anywhere,” the man scolded, guiding Akechi back onto the bed. “You need to rest a bit more, and even once you do it’ll take a few days before you’re up to doing much.” The man offered Akechi a smile, then chuckled when he saw the boy’s glare. “Glare all you like. Or vent. Rant, yell. Whatever you need to do. Don’t hold back. You’re safe here.”

“Safe…” Akechi shook his head. “Somehow I doubt that. I doubt I’ll be safe for a long time.” He tried to rise again.

“Easy,” Tae scowled, “You’re still recovering from that bullet wound. I don’t want you reopening that. Sheesh. You’re worse than my Guinea pig.” She shook her head. “He’s right. Right now you need to rest. You’ll be safe here. Now that you’re awake… well, things are looking better. You’ll recover.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze then glanced at Maruki. “I’ll be back tonight to check on him.”

“Of course. Can you pick some groceries up on the way for me, please?” He offered the woman a smile.

Tae sighed. “Now that he’s awake you could go get them yourself.”

Maruki glanced at Akechi, sighing as the detective prince was forcing himself to sit up again. “… I think it would have been safer to get groceries when he was still sleeping. At least then there was less chance of him hurting himself.”

Tae rolled her eyes. “I’ll get you some things.” She shook her head and turned, leaving.

Akechi sighed, his head spinning as he tried to gather his thoughts. Tried to make sense of things. It was hard to focus on anything right now, though. Soon he felt Maruki guiding him to lay down once more. He gave up fighting the needed rest, his eyes soon closing again.


	2. Twisted Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is a twisted place to Akechi. The more he learns, the more twisted and dark it all seems.

Staying inside for a prolonged time was enough to drive Akechi nuts. He liked to be active, keeping himself busy and strong. Being stuck on bedrest for three days was worse, and he dreaded how weak he’d feel when he was finally allowed to start doing things again. It would take time to regain his strength. Thankfully Maruki made a trip to his apartment, bringing back a couple changes of clothes for Akechi, along with some books and a folder Akechi had asked him to fetch. Even if Akechi was being ordered to rest his body, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use his mind. He spent time going over what had happened, jotting notes down in a journal, pouring over all the details as he tried to pinpoint what could have been done different. Where he’d failed. What could be altered, if this all repeated like the nose was threatening. Examining it all like he’d examine a case. But no matter how he analyzed things he felt like he wasn’t finding the answers he needed. Something was missing. He needed more details, more information. Though he wasn’t even sure just what information it was, that he needed.

Every so often Maruki would check in on him. Just offer a smile, ask how he was doing. The man was patient, always seemed to have this concerned air about him. In some ways it was comforting, in others it just rubbed Akechi the wrong way. This whole damn mess was too complicated to just fix with the snap of someone’s fingers, or with an hour-or three- of venting. Still, he did find himself venting to the man some. Never much at a time, just a sentence here or there. Maruki listened, commented on things, showed interest in him. It was… strange. The only other person that had ever shown interest in him in the last several years was Akira. The attention was welcomed, and in some ways Akechi found himself craving more. The fact this man actually wanted to know about him… it fed that inner desire for attention. He shared small things. The fact he was a foster child. That he had a father, but his father was a bastard. He even admitted to trying to kill Akira at one point, and told about the battle on the ship. Explained how he’d been wounded in the first place.

Maruki just listened. Nodding every once in a while, seeming to accept what he was saying without questioning any of it. In some ways it made Akechi question the man’s sanity. No one would believe all of this without seeing it for themselves or having some proof. Not unless they’d built a lot of trust with the person explaining.

It was the evening of December 19th. The election results were on. Akechi’s heart sank as he heard the election results. Shido… the man had won the election. Did this mean that the Phantom Thieves failed? How? He pursed his lips, watching close. A satisfied smile curled his lips as he saw the man breaking down, then the filming cutting out.

“They did it,” he breathed. “They actually did it… maybe… maybe now this damn game will be over. They won, right?” It would be hard to go bigger than Shido Masayoshi. Or was it? He wasn’t sure what to think at this point. He hoped that was the end of it, that defeating his father would satisfy Igor.

“Game?” Maruki passed Goro a mug of coffee, then settled down onto the nearby chair. “You keep mentioning some game. Just what do you mean?”

Akechi frowned, eyes growing distant as he watched the scene on tv. “Hell if I know…” he sighed, tugging his phone out and staring at it. Brand new phone, but it had gotten the ap within an hour of getting it. “Three… almost four years ago now. I was hearing voices in my head. Something… something happened. I was dragged into another place. A parallel realm, I suppose. There, those voices took form as persona. Loki… and Robin.” His brow furrowed, “They should be summoned as one. A yin and a yang. Something blocked me from being able to though. I’ve never figured out what.” He waved his hand slightly, “ah, but that’s…. not important.” It was. It felt desperately important, but he could never pinpoint why.

“After I gained them, I gained a special… special ap, for my phone.” He showed his phone to the man, pointing out the ap. “The next night I was pulled into this room. It was… a giant prison. I was in prison garb, heavily chained. Some weird being with a giant nose was there, grinning like some lunatic. He said I was to be part of his game. That I had a key role, but I needed to train and learn first.” He rose, pacing a moment before coming to a stop in front of the window. “In the metaverse, it’s full of shadows and persona. A persona is a representation of a soul, in many ways… or a spirit of some sort. For a year solid I trained hard, trying to figure out what that thing wanted with me. I gained an ability with Loki. The ability to force a shadow to break past its limits.”

“Break past…? What do you mean?” Maruki questioned, watching Akechi intently.

“For some, it meant they went berserk. Let them attack twice in a row, increased all their abilities, or spike attack and speed while their defense dropped. For others… for others it drove them insane. Made their human counterpart in the world…” he paused.

“The mental breakdowns,” Maruki breathed. “Those are your work?”

“Not all of them. There was someone else that does them too. Someone else… I never learned who. I might have a dark mask, but it has a dark red tint. Not black. That other person, he had a black mask.” Akechi shook his head. “I don’t know who it is. I don’t know if he’s working for Masayoshi or not. I just know…” his voice trailed off, lips pursing.

“He’s a threat, that they don’t even know about yet. You’re worried about them,” Maruki observed. “Why? Didn’t you try to kill Akira, didn’t you fight their team?” He studied Akechi, leaning forward a bit. Resting his chin on his hand.

Akechi felt his cheeks warm. His eyes flit to Maruki, then looked out the window once more. Focusing on a nearby rooftop as he tried to mentally ground himself. Thinking through what to say, scrapping the idea then forming a new one. Uncertain just how much he wanted to share.

After a moment Maruki’s eyes widened. “My god… that’s it isn’t it? You love him. You love Akira, the leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Akechi gave the man a miserable look. Of course, the man would figure it out. The one thing he really wasn’t ready to share with anyone. “I didn’t know it, until after I thought I shot him. I’d felt things but… but I’d been so focused on my work, on my goal, I let that cloud my mind. Then after I shot him, when I thought he was dead…” his voice wavered.

“It sent you over the edge,” Maruki said softly.

“I don’t understand it,” Akechi whispered. “On the ship, I fully intended to work with him, but when I saw them, I was just full of this… of this madness. This rage. I couldn’t get myself to tell them what I wanted to say. I was just so… so caught up in what my plan had been. It was hard to think of anything else.” He sighed, eyes falling a moment before he heard Maruki’s fingers tapping. He looked up, brow furrowing. “… what’s that look for?”

“Mm… I’ve actually been studying this sort of thing for a long time,” Maruki admitted. “I’ve got a theory.”

“A theory?” Akechi held his chin a moment as he thought, trying to guess the theory. Eventually he sighed, no clue what this man had in mind. “Let’s hear it. What’s this theory of yours?”

“Pass me your phone.”

“What?”

“Just… let my see your phone a moment.”

“Why?”

“You still have the metaverse ap, even on a new phone. I want to check something.”

Akechi frowned, “Why would you…” he paused, then scowled. “You can’t think…? But… I have persona. People can’t have persona and a palace at the same time.”

“Why not?”

“They can’t,” Akechi insisted. “That would mean they have a shadow and persona at once.”

“Didn’t you say your persona should be summoned as one? Perhaps the fact they can’t be, is because you have a shadow. That shadow being the missing link, that lets them come as one,” Maruki suggested. “Come now, let’s test it. It is simple enough to check.” Maruki waited a moment then took the phone once Akechi finally offered it to him. He tapped the ap, watching as the screen came up. His eyes focused on Akechi as he lifted the phone. “Akechi Goro.”

For a moment, nothing, then, “Name confirmed.”

Maruki’s eyes locked on Akechi, watching as the detective prince blanched. “You said you felt like you couldn’t control it. In a sense… doesn’t that suggest there was something twisted inside you, making it so you weren’t truly working by your own free will?” He looked at the phone again. “LeBlanc.”

“Location confirmed.” The phone chimed.

“You act like you’ve already tested this before,” Akechi frowned, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Something twisted inside of him... hadn’t Igor mentioned that?

“I did,” Maruki admitted. “Back when they were doing a poll on who’s heart to steal next… I’m the one that put you on the poll. I’d seen you a couple times in passing, I could tell you were hurting. And… well, I have a persona of my own.” He looked at the phone again. “Opera house.”

“Entering.” Their surroundings shimmered some, though their immediate surroundings didn’t change. Akechi stared out the window. Nothing seemed to have changed but… but he could sense the change. There was something about the air in the metaverse that always felt a little different, even in areas that looked like the normal world. Or he just thought there was… he wasn’t even sure anymore. So much that he had been certain of before, he questioned now.

“You wouldn’t be able to see it from here,” Maruki sighed, tapping the phone and leaving the metaverse. He set Akechi’s phone on the table, offering the young man a smile as he saw his baffled look. “I’m not a fighter. I dislike fighting, dislike harming others. I want to help people, not hurt them. I’ll admit… I haven’t been inside your palace but I have seen it from the outside. I’ve been to the main entrance a couple times. It’s… beautiful, in many ways but sad in others.”

“I need to see it for myself,” Akechi rasped, swallowing hard. “I need to see it…” he sank onto the couch, resting his head in his hands. “How long…?”

“I don’t know,” Maruki shook his head. “I’ve studied the mementos. The collective unconscious. I have not studied palaces in particular. Though I’ll admit, I’d love the chance to study yours.”

“No.”

“No?”

Akechi shook his head. “No. If I have a palace… the shadows there are apt to be very powerful. I know I’m strong but I won’t let you risk yourself there. I… I’ll figure something out. But I don’t want you entering.”

“But-“

“I said no.” Akechi said firmly. “I’m sorry, but please. This is… a personal thing. Whatever it is, I need to face it myself.”

The man tilted his head to the side, studying Akechi a moment then nodding. “If you insist.”

“I do.”

-=-

The weeks following the election only left Akechi confused. Shido had confessed his crimes, and yet the public was still on his side for some reason or another. He knew that the political party Shido had surrounded himself with was strong, but he hadn’t thought they were capable of this. Manipulating things to make it look like the accusations were wrong and Shido was just a victim.

Victim indeed. Of his own guilt.

Akechi started going to mementos again, during the hours when the Phantom Thieves would still be in class. It was his only way to avoid them, for certain. While he didn’t have the Monabus to assist in travel, Loki was able to shift. Akechi would have his persona take its mare form. He’d mount up and ride, drawing his serrated blade and using it to attack shadows before the shadows could react. A strike with his blade started the battles with enemies stunned and damaged. Not as fast as the Monabus perhaps, but more effective in his opinion.

Not as fun though. Doing this with the others had been… more fun.

He shoved that thought back and focused on his objective. Trying to hunt down the shadows of the people in Shido’s political party.

He did find a few but what information he dragged out of them wasn’t enough. All he got was that someone else was pulling the strings.

Who, though? Who was pulling the strings?

One day he was relaxing in Maruki’s home when the metaverse and real world seemed to merge for a short time. He saw the acid rain falling, watched out the window as people seemed to just vanish from sight. When he realized the Phantom Thieves were actually going to go and try to battle that… that _thing._ That false god, Akechi almost raced out to go join them. He would have, though Maruki stopped him and just shook his head.

“Akechi, the public doesn’t know you’re alive. You go out there, that acid rain will just destroy you. You won’t have a chance to help them.”

“But…” but he wanted to help. Though would they even want him to? He’d betrayed them in the end. Maybe… maybe it was best if they continued thinking he was dead. He returned to the window, staring out. Watching as he saw Joker summon Satanael. Joker really had come a long way, hadn’t he? This… this had to be the victory Igor had spoken of, right? With Akira winning like this, there was no way the game would continue. That thought was satisfying at least.

“My research isn’t complete yet,” Maruki mused. Akechi’s eyes snapping to the man as he spoke. “It’s not ready. There’s still so much to do. I don’t have enough yet...”

“What research?” Akechi studied the man. “Enough of what?”

Maruki just shook his head with a smile, not answering. Though his silence about it made Akechi wonder just what was on the man’s mind. What was he thinking about, what research was he doing? Akechi was tempted to go through the man’s paperwork, hunt through the man’s home and find answers. The man had saved his life though… snooping felt wrong, right now. Maybe the man would share more, later on.

The coming months were stressful. He’d tried to return to his home, only to find the place totally trashed. He’d ended up renting a new place entirely. Getting new clothes, and avoiding areas he’d frequented in the past. He was able to support himself by making frequent trips into the metaverse. To his surprise, it seemed that the Phantom Thieves could no longer enter the place. It was still overflowing with shadows… so what stopped them from coming? Still, that made it easier for him to spend more time in mementos. Training, fighting shadows, gathering items, drops, yen and experience. Even sleeping in the safe areas at times, instead of returning to reality. Finding ways to spend his time. It was a shock when he heard that Akira had been arrested and was in prison. He was tempted to go meet with the man; see how he was doing… make himself known. But… he couldn’t. Not after what he’d done. He couldn’t bring himself to go see Akira.

After all that… after everything that happened, Akira ended up in prison. What sort of twisted world was this?

Akechi didn’t do nothing, though. He got in touch with a few of his contacts, asking them to make certain Akira was safe. He submitted his own evidence to show that Akira wasn’t guilty of the mental shutdowns. Proof showed Shido had ordered the shutdowns and someone else- not Akira- had done them.

It was a breath of relief when he got word about Akira being released. Multiple times he went to Yongen-Jaya, watched the café for a little while before leaving quietly. Unable to get himself to go inside. He did go into his own palace once. Though he only went as far as the entrance. It was… huge. Huge, and surrounded by darkness. There was this loneliness about it that send a chill down his spine. Looking at his own palace, gazing on it for the first time ever… it made him feel sick. Knowing he had one like this. Why… why did he have one? What was the reason? Had it been forced on him, or developed on its own? How long had he had it?

He fled back to his apartment afterwards, feeling like shit.

It had to stop. These games, his palace, all of it… it needed to be stopped, somehow. How though? He’d only ever helped with one palace, didn’t know how to deal with his own. For once, he doubted he could handle something on his own. His palace… just seeing it from the outside was enough to make him sick. How much worse would the inside be?

That night he slept poorly; his sleep wracked with nightmares…

_The hall was brightly lit as Akechi walked down it. Dressed in his typical work attire, gloves slipped on. The detective prince offered Sae Niijima a smile as he passed her. Exchanging words briefly before moving down the hall. He spoke to a guard outside an interrogation room then stepped inside, having the guard enter as well. Eyes locking on the young man seated at the interrogation table. He heard the door click closed behind him and turned, grabbing the guards gun- shooting the man in the head. He watched as the body slumped to the ground and turned, smirking as he watched the prisoner. The gun was aimed, focus narrowed in on the other teen._

For a moment, his vision distorted. The image of Igor, that bastard with the long nose, appeared. The sound of that… that predator’s laughter echoing in Akechi’s ears. “And thus the loop begins. Time for the game to start again… round two. Will either of you win this time?” The laughter faded as the scene of the interrogation room came into view again.

_“Checkmate.” The gun recoiled as a bullet left the barrel, sound muffled as the bullet sliced through the air then thudded into the prisoner’s skull. The head fell forward, striking the table. Blood… flowing… everywhere…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First thinking the game would end with Shido, only to find out that wasn't it. Learning he had a palace. Learning that Shido wasn't the last 'boss' for the thieves. Seeing the Phantom Thieves take on a god... seeing his own palace... and a nightmare. Akechi just can't catch a break this chapter.


	3. The Game Begins Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though Akira won the game, Akechi wakes from a nightmare only to find that the game has started over. As he gets back into flow of things he wonders if he'll be able to change anything, or if he's stuck in a cycle of events that will just repeat again and again.

Akechi woke with a gasp, sitting up, panting hard. Sweat dripped from his brow as his eyes darted side to side. He took a slow breath, trying to process where he was; the scent of blood still filling his nose from that vivid dream.

Home. He was home. In his bedroom. Morning light was just starting to peak through his window. He turned, bare feet hitting the floor as he tugged his sweat-soaked shirt off, tossing that to the side. Just another day. It wasn’t like he had anything to do today. Maybe another metaverse run. Maybe he’d finally have the courage to go see Akira, let the other guy know he wasn’t dead. Maybe… maybe he should ask them for help with his palace. They’d help him, wouldn’t they? Or maybe they wouldn’t. He had betrayed them.

That bastard Igor had called him worthless. He really was… wasn’t he?

He rose with a sigh, moving to the bathroom and splashing his face with water. He stared at himself in the mirror, taking note of his features. The plastic smile he wore in public was absent this morning, replaced with a weary frown. He wasn’t about to call what he got last night, sleep. It had been too exhausting to be called sleep.

 _‘This isn’t the time to feel sorry for yourself,_ ’ Loki scolded. _‘Pay attention, something’s changed.’_

“Changed?” Akechi rubbed his face then straightened, returning to his bedroom. He stripped the bed and tossed the sheets in the hamper to tend to later, then made his way to the living room. The television was flipped on, station changed to the news as he moved to get something to eat.

The fridge was opened, eyebrow cocking when he saw it was empty. “The hell… I just bought groceries yesterday, before I went into the metaverse…” he huffed, closing that then searching for some instant coffee to fix up.

Nothing. The cupboards were bare as well.

_‘Good morning everyone!'_ The newscaster said cheerfully, _"Today is March 1 st. Expect a clear day today with mild temperatures. There’s going to be a light wind today-“_

Akechi whirled around, staring at the television. “March first?!” He turned, swallowing hard as he looked around, just taking a moment to observe. Finally awake enough to fully process everything. “This is…” this was his old apartment. The one he’d had before Shido’s people trashed it. Before he’d almost been killed in the metaverse. He moved to the window, looking out. Watching as the neighbor was outside with his lab, the man ogling one of the women that always got home from work around this hour. “Impossible… but I thought Akira won? Then how…?” The game should have been over. Akira won.

He moved to the bedroom, grabbing his phone and flicking the screen, watching as the date came into view.

March first. It really was March first. Over a month before Akira even came to Tokyo. Before that whole issue with the school went down. Before the Phantom Thieves made themselves known. That meant he was once against 17. Once against stuck under his father’s thumb. Far enough into the game that there was no backing out. Not without his father killing him.

The phone was tossed onto the bed. March first... he needed to get organized. Remember the details of what went on around this time. He’d have to be careful, not reveal that he knew the future. Or a version of the future at least. There was no way he was going to stay back and just let the same thing happen again.

“Damn it Igor…” Akechi ran a hand through his hair. “What will it take to satisfy you and your damn game?” He glanced at the kitchen then sighed, heading to the bathroom to prepare for the day. Showering, tending to his hair, making sure he looked presentable. He dressed in a soft blue shirt with a tan peacoat over it. A striped black and white tie, black pants, black gloves and black loafers.

 _‘Do you have to wear so much black?’_ Robin complained.

Akechi chuckled. “Well… I think I have three copies of this same outfit. My winter outfit is different. I really should pick out a few new outfits…” He lifted his briefcase, setting it on the table and opening it. Going over the contents, refreshing his memory on everything. He closed it then grabbed his phone. He checked his schedule then slipped the phone into his pocket. Fingers closed around the briefcase handle before he lifted it, moving outside and locking the apartment door behind him. He attached his briefcase to his cycle then got on, heading into town. The streets were quiet this early in the morning, the light breeze a refreshing thing. He could hear the different birds chirping in the trees.

A typical morning in Tokyo. The crowds would be filling the streets before long.

He made his way to a local market, purchasing some fresh scones at a bakery and getting a cup of coffee from another place. He enjoyed his breakfast in Inokashira Park, until he was spotted by some fans. He found himself giving a few autographs, laughing some and smiling as he listened to the comments, greeted people. He let them know he had to get back to work, flashing them a charming smile before getting back onto his bike. His next destination was Shibuya. He stopped into the airsoft shop, selling off a good majority of the things he’d gotten from mementos. Somehow it had all carried over from last loop. It was a marvel that the man here didn’t question what he was selling. Something he was grateful for. He purchased two new weapons while he was there. Things he wanted to test.

Stepping out of the airsoft shop he glanced to the right, eyes resting on the door there. The door no one else seemed to be able to see. He grit his teeth then moved over to it, pausing, then walking through.

Once again he found himself in that prison garb. Hands shackled together, chains slithering after him as he rose and moved to the cell door. He peeked out, glaring at the long nosed man sitting at that damn desk. “Are you happy?” He snapped.

“Well well, Akechi returns,” Igor said cheerfully. “You usually only come here when I make you come. What’s the occasion?” He teased.

“You’re asking me what the occasion is?” Akechi grimaced. “Let me out of this damn cell Igor. I want a proper talk to you, face to face.”

“Mmm… no. You have to earn your way out.” Igor snickered.

Akechi’s eyes narrowed. He lowered his shoulder and rammed against the door, though the blow accomplished nothing.

Igor just tsked his tongue. “My word, what has you so upset today? Here I thought everything was going so well.”

“I’m sick of your games Igor. Why are you doing this?”

Igor’s eyes widened and he spread his arms innocently. “The game is hardly in motion yet. The other player hasn’t even joined. How can you be sick of it, when it’s not even fully started?”

Akechi paused, studying Igor a moment then pursing his lips. Did Igor not remember? Had this being somehow erased its own memory of the game, when it turned back time? It seemed like the nose had no memory of what happened in the future. If that was the case though… why did he remember? Why did he remember things that the nose did not?

He grimaced and turned away, looking down at his chains. “I don’t like your rules, or your chains. I want more freedom.”

Igor rolled his eyes. “Get out of here Akechi. I’m not going to end my game before it even starts.”

Akechi flinched as he found himself thrown out of the velvet room. He glared at the door a moment then sighed, mounting his cycle and heading to work. Once there he checked in with the different officers cheerfully -most ignored him, due to him being a kid, and a hotshot celebrity at that-, had a short chat with Niijima, then took time to look over a few cold cases. Solving two of them before switching to look over a more recent case. He already knew who did it, knew where to look for the evidence on this one. He’d done all of this before. He’d be able to handle them all swifter this time through, leave himself with more time for other things.

His mind moved to what he’d done, last loop. There had been two mental shutdowns he did this month, and another four that the other dark mask user had done. He wondered if he could locate those shadows before the other person hit them, interrogate them and figure out just why they were targeted. He’d never questioned the _why_ before, always just done it. Not looked into who they were, before he did the act. In the long run, their lives hadn’t mattered. It had been a needed death, to get to his goal.

But was that goal still valid? Yes, he still hated Shido Masayoshi. With every fiber of his being he hated that man. At the same time though… Akira had every reason to hate the man, but instead of seeking vengeance and destroying the man he’d tried to stop him. How did he do it? How did he push past the hurt, the anger, and choose not to take revenge when he had the chance? In many ways Akechi envied Akira. That guy had everything. A place he belonged, good friends, the support of those around him. He was able to keep going no matter how shitty the world seemed. How did he do it?

He sighed, mind moving back to the mental shutdowns that would happen. Perhaps he’d start striking these shadows in the late evening, or early morning… it would minimize the casualties. Though that may aggravate Shido as well. It was a fine balance he’d have to find. He needed to keep Shido satisfied, otherwise his own life was on the line.

Life fell into a routine over the next few days. Akechi pulling his memory of things together. It was the third when he visited Shido in the man’s office.

 _‘I wonder what Shido would look like with his head on a spike,’_ Loki quipped. ‘ _A little grease on that top and he could almost pass for a street lamp. Oooh, or maybe freeze him. Turn him into an icy statue then tip him off a roof. See if his body shatters as easily as his morals.’_

Akechi’s expression didn’t change as he spoke to Shido cheerfully. Assuring the man he was comfortable in his current apartment. Letting him know that two of the lesser known targets had been dealt with. Getting a list of his next few targets.

It was easier to breath once he was outside of the Diet building again. He reached in his pocket, flipping off the recorder he’d had going. He paused when a taxi rolled to a stop in front of him. Brow furrowed when the back door opened. He leaned over, peaking in. “I don’t recall calling for a taxi.”

“You didn’t,” Maruki offered him a smile, “But I was hoping to talk to you. Get on in, I’ll give you a ride.”

Akechi sighed, slipping into the taxi and shutting the door. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

Maruki pulled away from the Diet building. “I wanted to see how you’re doing. Checking to see if you’re having any nasty nightmares, possible flashbacks of things…”

“You remember.” Akechi gave Maruki a sharp look.

Maruki adjusted his mirror, glancing back at Akechi. “Do you?”

They were both silent a moment before Akechi’s gaze turned out the window. “Most of it, yes. Some of it I wish I didn’t remember. So much has happened.”

“Would you like some help dealing with things?” Maruki offered softly. “I can help you. Make things better. Maybe even help with your palace some.”

“No. I don’t want your help. I need to find my own path somehow.” His hands tightened on his briefcase handle as he glared out the window- totally missing the disappointed look on the man’s face. “I’ll figure it out.”

“… if you say so. Just don’t get in over your head. If you ever need help… I’m willing to listen and do what I can.”

A barked laugh escaped as Akechi rolled his eyes. “Sorry, but I think I’m beyond your help. Let me off at Yongen-Jaya would you? I need to check on something there.”

“Your palace?”

“… what’s the fee for this ride?”

“Free for today.”

“Thanks. Don’t expect me to owe you anything though.”

“I won’t.” Maruki’s eyes were thoughtful as he looked at the detective prince with his mirror. Eyes returned to the road when Akechi looked at him. The rest of the ride silent until he dropped the prince off. “Akechi,” he offered the young man a smile, “never give up hope. Things can always get better, no matter how bad a situation is. Even when you feel alone- remember, you never are. There are always people around who are willing to support you, if you give them the chance.”

“If you say so.” Akechi got out of the taxi, closing the door and watching it drive off. He pursed his lips then turned, heading towards LeBlanc. He paused outside of it, eyes wistful as he looked at the door.

He remembered… the coffee Akira would make specifically for him. It wasn’t the house special, but a custom blend. One that he’d missed since the last time Akira made it for him. That evening before the heist, at Sae’s palace. It felt like a lifetime ago- it practically was. He remembered the chess matches he’d played against the other teen. The way Akira had smiled at him…

When had Akira figured out that he was going to betray him? How long had the other teen known, but continued to smile? Continued to try and befriend him? He wished… wished things could have gone differently. Could they? With this game, they were set against each other. In the end, neither of them could win… not truly. At least, that’s what it felt like. If things kept going the way they were, then…

No. No, that wasn’t going to happen damn it. He wouldn’t let things continue this way. He’d make things change, somehow.

 _‘How can you change anything with your own heart distorted?’_ Loki questioned.

“How indeed,” Akechi mused. He would start there. There had to be a way to figure that out. Coming to this area frequently would quickly draw attention though and there were only so many places he could enter the metaverse from without drawing someone else in on accident…

He started walking, moving up and down the street. Studying the little yards, and the different nooks and crannies in the area. Trying to decide how best to go about this. The doctor was right around the corner, so if he ended up needing medical aid he could get it easily enough. This area had a small store where he could get basic supplies… and the pawn shop would come in handy. What about a way to get in though, a way to conceal that he was working in the area on something? He knew there had to be a few small apartments around here that were for rent. He just had to find one.

His walking came to an abrupt stop two buildings down from LeBlanc café. A residential building nestled between a dining bar and an International Restaurant -both eateries looking a bit dejected, but open. The building was a dark blue-grey with two floors. Narrow, but certainly more than enough for what he’d need. Set back off the street a little by a walkway. This… this would be perfect. So close to Leblanc, could get to the subway without having to pass that café or could slip in for a cup of coffee anytime. The other two eating places would be welcomed sources of meals. It was for sale, too. For sale, now, of all times? He knew he had enough to buy it, what with all the money he’d built up from mementos trips. Eyes rested on an elderly man that was in the process of putting a ‘for sale’ sign up on the building. “How much?” Akechi moved forward, offering the man a smile. “How much to buy the building?”

“Boy, you wouldn’t have the money for this.” The man laughed. Not recognizing him from tv, it seemed. Something Akechi was grateful about.

“Name your price.”

The man scoffed and named a price. Naming one that was almost double the actual value.

“Deal. Get the paperwork and we’ll go inside.”

The man just stared. “There’s no way-“

“You gave a price, I accepted.” Akechi’s eyes narrowed, voice lowering a touch, “you will hold to the deal, or I’ll investigate you and expose you for every little crime you’ve ever committed. You won’t speak about who you sold it to either. Are we clear on this?”

The man blanched, suddenly realizing who he was talking to. “O-oh, er… o-of course. But don’t you want to look at the property first? It needs a lot of fixing up-“ he shut up when Akechi gave him another look. He turned and took the sign down, moving inside. Holding the door for Akechi.

It was close enough to LeBlanc that Akechi could enter the metaverse… and his palace, from here. Without having to be in sight. Without the Phantom Thieves catching on that he was doing that. It was out of the way, not in any of the areas he frequented. No fans would stalk him here. His father didn’t know this location. He’d keep the other home as well, but this would be his base of operations from here on out.

It was something new.

… good.

The home he’d purchased was completely empty, save for some ratty carpets and the strong scent of alcohol. Akechi hired some people to come in and tear that carpet up, clean the place from top to bottom. The kitchen appliances were completely replaced, and the bathroom had to be remodeled. The bedroom upstairs repainted… he offered them twice their asking price if they’d get it done in a week, with a bonus for faster.

They finished in five days.

The home was small, but rather cozy by the time it was finished. A kitchen, living room and a bathroom downstairs. Upstairs was one large bedroom. He put up a half wall to split that room in two, the half wall holding shelving for things. One half of the room was turned into a simple bedroom while the other half of the room was turned into an office. Shelves for different things he was working on. His collection of maps set on an upper shelf where he could grab them easily if he wanted to. He purchased a desk and put that together, setting it in the office area. He could do his schoolwork there, and case work.

It was a simple home, but it was his. Out of the way, unknown, fairly quiet. Something he’d certainly welcome. He fully moved into the place by the tenth of March. He purchased some new casual clothes, things that wouldn’t stick out as much as his usual wear. At Robin’s urging he got a couple white button up shirts that he ended up pairing with a vest.

‘ _Your casual is too formal,’_ Robin complained.

 _‘Maybe once Akira is back you can get him to take you shopping, he has good taste,’_ Loki joked.

Akechi just huffed, glad no one was around to see him blushing. He knew those two were going to tease him horribly, going forward. He’d have to work at controlling his reactions. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t keep them quiet. He was just thankful no one else could hear them. He remembered when he’d first gained his persona, they’d make little quips and comments here and there. People had given him odd looks and asked if he was okay. He’d had to learn not to respond to them outwardly.

Certainly wasn’t easy, at times.

Getting in and out of mementos was a lot easier, now that he was living so close to the subway. On March 15th, he made a stop at Café LeBlanc for a morning coffee, enjoying the peaceful morning before making his way to the subway and slipping into mementos. Akechi called Loki out, watching as his persona took its horse form before mounting and heading to the depths. This one was a harder one to get to. This one was on the path of Kaitul, in the seventh area. Akira tried to use the ap to jump down to the rest area on level 6, but for whatever reason it was blocked off. After several tries he found he could only go as far down as the path of Chemdah. He sighed, but tapped the ap. Watching as the area around him seemed to morph, the surroundings twisting and changing until the first floor of Chemdah appeared.

He pat Loki’s neck then urged the horse forward. Sword drawn and ready as he rode along. Down one path then another, hunting for the way down.

It was slow work, but steady. He made it all the way to the end of the path, only to be faced with some giant doorway blocking the way forward. “The hell…” he huffed and dismounted, letting Loki vanish as he moved to the door, resting his hands on it.

He had removed this door last year, during one of his training runs. Why was it back?

Then again, why not? With everything else so screwed up, he supposed it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Leaning forward he rested his forehead against the wall, closing his eyes and just listening. At first there was nothing, then slowly he started hearing voices from beyond the wall.

_One man had been mugged in Shibuya. A young woman’s cat had been killed by some teen. One woman’s husband was angry, and had beaten her. A young man was being offered a promotion, but only if he married his boss’s daughter. A little boy had gotten a stuffed animal for his birthday, just as he’d wanted…_

There was a clicking sound, then the door slowly opened up.

“Hear the mind of society, and in listening reveal all its flaws, desires, and strengths,” he mused. Loki had taught him that. How to open the doors. Even if society was against you, the only way to impact it was to listen to it. How you responded was up to you, but you had to listen to it before paths of opportunity would open.

He mounted Loki once more, urging the mare forward and heading further into the depths.

Locating the target shadow on the seventh floor wasn’t difficult. He took the first right, then the second one. Locating a distorted area in the path. He moved forward, entering it. His target today was some old man with beady little eyes. The shadow was clutching a book, mumbling something about money, false accounts, tracing… something.

Akechi dismounted, sheathing his blade. He moved forward, offering the shadow a smile then lunging at it. His claws gauntlet closing around the shadow’s throat. “Hello there~” Akechi grinned, shoving the shadow back against Loki. “I’ve got some questions for you. Why don’t you behave like a good little idiot and answer, hmm?” One sharp barb of his gauntlets tickled the shadow’s throat. He sucked in a slow breath, breathing in the shadow’s fear. He listened as the shadow babbled on, giving him information- most of it useless. Eventually he tsked his tongue and threw the man to the floor. “Is that all you’ve got? Useless.”

“Y-you’re as bad as that other one,” the shadow sputtered.

“Other one? What other one?” Akechi rested a food on the shadow’s throat, keeping it pinned to the ground but not hard enough that it couldn’t talk.

“H-he has a black mask. That’s all I know I swear! He often comes and bullies different ones. He likes to experiment, try to warp the different shadows. Force us to change into something… something else.”

“Give me a name or description,” Akechi demanded.

“I don’t know!” The shadow wailed.

“Then I’ve no more use for you.” Akechi stepped back a few feet. “Loki!”

Loki laughed as he appeared in front of the man. He spread his hands as if he were going to hug the man, two balls of swirling black energy gathering in his hands. He snapped his hands forward, the black energy striking the shadow. Some of that black energy coming back to settle on Akechi, his eyes shifting to a brighter red then normal, a black mist settling around his form as he felt some of the backlash from his ability.

The shadow screamed, clutching its head. It gasped, jerked, then screamed again. Eyes shifting to a brilliant red as it started to laugh. A hyena’s laugh as the shadow stumbled to the side, clawing at its own face.

Akechi turned and left. Leaving the shadow on its own- its mind had been broken, what happened next was out of his hands. He headed back towards the entrance, not warping back but taking the long route. Though he didn’t use Loki this time. This time he called on Robin as he walked the long halls. He taunted shadows into fighting him, his saber cutting through the different shadows as he fought. He didn’t even pay attention to what shadows he fought as he carved his way through the enemies, making his way back to the surface. By the time he reached the top floor the outfit he wore with Robin was red instead of its usual white. "Fitting for the Ides of March." Akechi shook his head, looking down at himself. Watching blood drip from his outfit to the floor. None of it his, thankfully. The venting had done him some good, even if he didn't want to admit it. He felt calmer now then he had since the start of the loop.

Satisfied, he left mementos. The sun was already starting to set as he headed home for the evening.

Another trip into mementos took place the last day of March. That second target Shido had given him this month was driven mad. Though this hit was done in the early morning, before the sun even rose. He got home from his little mission while the sky was still dark. He spent the morning in the living room, television on but mostly ignored.

The morning news reported another mental shut down. This one happened an hour before one of the subway conductors was supposed to start work for the day. His phone beeped with a text moments later. He glanced at the phone, smirking when he saw it was from ‘asshole’. It was from Shido, though Akechi had made Shido’s name come through on his phone as asshole. It wasn’t like the guy could see it, and Shido had insisted that Akechi didn’t use his actual name.

**Asshole:** Why did the shutdown happen so early in the morning? I wanted it to happen mid-morning or mid-afternoon where it would get more attention. We discussed this.

**Akechi:** Apologies. The shadows don’t always respond right away to what I do. He should have had a shutdown yesterday around one in the afternoon. For some reason this particular one was more resistant to my influence.

**Asshole:** Try to make sure the next one happens on time. The one on April 10th is particularly important.

**Akechi:** I will do my best sir. Have a good day.

Akechi turned his phone off and tossed it to the side. The tv was left on as he curled up on the couch, deciding to take a short nap before he rose to deal with the day.


	4. Welcome to the Opera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi finally decides to dive into his own palace. Though the memories and pain the place holds may be more then he can handle.

The first several days of April were spent preparing for a dive into the metaverse. Not into mementos, but into his own palace. Akechi hadn’t ventured inside last time, and he had no way of knowing the strength of the shadows inside, but he did know he had to be prepared. He spent time purchasing medicine at different locations, not wanting to make anyone suspicious of his purchases. Purchasing foods, and some drinks that could help restore his energy. Stocking up on all the basics, really.

It was April eighth when Akechi finally decided it was time to go in. He moved to the entrance of his home, glancing out the front window a moment before taking a slow breath. Okay. This was it. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Certainly easier than getting through that damn space palace solo. He had two persona, could cover his own weaknesses. He’d be okay. He’d… he’d be fine.

Then why did he feel so nervous about this?

“Damn it, get it together Goro,” he grumbled. His phone was tugged out, the history checked and his palace selected. While there were no immediate changes where he was, he could feel the air grow oppressively heavy.

The door was opened and he stepped outside. For now, in his normal clothing. He moved down the walkway to the main path, grimacing as he saw the path stretched on for what seemed like miles, the palace was just barely visible in the distance. “Well… further then I thought.” It had been a lot closer when he took a look at it, before the loop restarted. What had changed that?

Calling on Loki he had his trickster shift for him. He mounted up and leaned forward, urging Loki into a gallop. Loki’s long stride quickly ate up the distance, bringing them to the front of the opera house.

The palace grounds were… huge. Easily taking up an area larger than Yongen-Jaya itself. Almost two thirds of that was outdoor area from what Akechi could see from the gate. From here he could see the main building in the center, a fairly large garden to one side, and a patch of woods on the other side. Both areas seemed fairly empty from here. The main entrance to the opera house was fairly busy. Two pairs of shadows were greeting guests and letting them in one by one. Every so often a guest leaving the building. All of the guests were masked, as if they were going to some costume party.

Fitting, he supposed. He did think most people never showed their true selves, but always wore masks.

The grounds were walled in by a tall stone wall, making the gate the only easy exit from the palace. Akechi wondered if there were any other entrances and decided to start there. He stepped onto the grounds, frowning as his outfit changed into his Robin outfit almost immediately. Really? A threat to himself? Really…? He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, but at the same time it was distressing to consider.

_‘You can think on that later.’_ Robin scolded.

That he could.

Akechi started to walk, staying close to the wall and circling the grounds. He circled around the wooded area first, finding that in some places the bushes were far too thick to stay next to the wall.

He was just reaching the back corner of the wall and turning to move along the backside of the palace wall when he heard something rustling behind him. Akechi scanned the area then dodged as a sword slammed into the tree beside of him. He cursed, watching as a powerful shadow jerked the blade free of the tree then attacked him.

Akechi drew his own blade, blocking ablow. “Loki,” he called on his persona, having Loki slam a hard curse attack against the shadow. As the shadow stumbled, Akechi drew his gun and fired several times.

The shadow managed to take the attacks and keep coming.

Akechi dodged, attack. Took damage. The enemies blade nicked his cheek, drawing blood.

Akechi snarled, his temper flaring. “Loki!” He felt his power strike, a laugh escaping as his defense plummeted down. He slammed forward, attacking wild and feral.

The shadow wasn’t able to stand against the sudden power spike. It crumbled under Akechi’s attack, soon fading away from view once it was dead. Akechi panted a moment then growled and turned, continuing to explore, feeling far more on edge now. He’d been sneaking about and had still been jumped. Seemed that one shadow was able to spot people who were hiding.

_‘Guy of Gisborne,’_ Loki noted. _‘If that shadow was gained as someone’s persona, that’s who it would be. He was a headhunter that was hired to go after Robin Hood. I suspect that anytime someone is on the grounds here, there will be one of those tailing them.’_

“Joy,” Akechi huffed. “I wonder if there are a limited number of them, or if they just keep respawning?” He watched as the trees slowly thinned. Soon he came to a large clearing, the area behind the opera house. Behind the opera house was a somber graveyard. Akechi’s stomach tightened as he glanced at a few of the stones.

The names of each person he’d ever killed. On purpose, or as a result of someone else going berserk. Some of the gravestones had a ‘2’ on them. Likely noting that they’d been killed twice. Once each loop, or something. A few of them noted ‘self-defense’. Though there were only a couple of those. It made him sick, seeing this reminder of things. The only good thing was that no matter how he looked, none of the graves were for Akira. It was satisfying in a small way, to see that at least. Or not see that.

The other side of the opera house was gardens. Neatly groomed and carefully tended to. He saw one area to the side that was blocked by thick vines, and a powerful shadow standing in front of it. While he was tempted to see what was there, Loki cautioned him against it. He didn’t know the strength of that shadow, and that shadow had a lot of backup nearby.

He made it to the front of the palace again without anymore fights, though there had been a few close calls. He had spotted one back entrance to the opera house, though there had been a dozen strong shadows near it. There had been no breaks in the wall around the palace- the only easy entrance to the grounds was the front gate. Unless he dragged something in and climbed the outside of the wall. That could be an option.

_‘Are we just going to stay outside, or are we actually going in?’_ Loki questioned.

“We’re going in,” Akechi assured him. The question was… how? He tried to go in through the front, but the shadows at the entrance turned hostile immediately, swinging at him when he got near. He retreated a short distance, though the shadows didn’t pursue.

“Oh shit,” one of the cognitive people cursed, “I lost my ticket…”

“They won’t let you in without one,” another cognition sighed, “Where’d you lose it?”

“Not sure, but I think in the gardens?”

The gardens, eh?” Akechi scanned the area, using his wildcard ability to help him track where that cognition had been. He had to avoid a few shadows on the way, but he was able to locate the lost ticket. With the ticket in hand he tried the entrance once more, relaxing as the shadows there permitted him to enter without question.

Well, that was nice.

He scanned the area as he stepped into the entrance. The place was old, almost felt abandoned. Lonely… cold. Like some old opera house that should be condemned and shut down, but was still operating somehow. There were a few people inside the entryway, excitedly talking about a show that would be on in an hour. There were also cobwebs in the corners, and dust on some of the less-used furniture. It was sad, seeing just how dejected it seemed.

How much of this palace was from his own thoughts, and how much had been manipulated by someone else, someone under his father’s pay? Or was this all the result of his own twisted heart? It was hard to know. He wouldn’t know unless he pressed in further.

He explored the entryway for time. Noting some of the displays on the walls. Pictures of himself, mostly. One picture of himself as a child, smiling up at his mother. Another picture of him and some of the foster kids he’d grown up with before someone had forced them to move to a different foster house. There was a picture of the detective that first helped him get into law enforcement. An elder man that had been planning to adopt him, before he fell ill. Thinking back on it, he was certain that detective had a mental shutdown. He didn’t know who had done it, though. Thankfully there were no pictures of Shido.

Akechi shook his head, then tried to go through a side door. Wanting to see if he could head upstairs to the vip area. Areas like that usually held keys or something important to proceeding further in a palace.

“Hey,” a shadow barked. “That area is off limits. You don’t have a vip ticket.”

Akechi sighed. Of course a shadow would try to stop him. He watched as the shadow called another over, then drew his blade. He attacked before they could try to force him away from the stairway.

The shadows transformed, taking their battle forms. Akechi dodged their initial attacks, observing them and trying to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. One guard – Odin, Loki supplied – told Akechi he was disobeying orders by being here. That one’s voice sounded almost exactly like Shido’s voice. The other shadow – Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin spat – snarled at Akechi, calling him a brat. The voice remarkably similar to the guy in charge of the last foster home Akechi had lived in. The man that, technically, was still his foster parent.

He lost it. He yelled at them, attacking hard. Seeing red as he fought them. It was a hard battle. He felt blows connect, knew he wasn’t doing well… but he held on. Somehow he managed to hold on, and win.

He sank to the ground once those two shadows vanished. Wheezing for a moment then rising with a growl. No. NO. He would not be beaten in his own palace damn it!

Eyes scanned the area. The path up the stairs was completely blocked off now, security had been tripped and the door locked. There had to be another way up…

A ladder was spotted, and climbed. Akechi moving onto the higher floor eventually, hunting the area. He balanced on the edge of one viewing area, taking time to find handles in the wall. Making use of the lights and curtains to support him as he continued climbing upwards. Eventually finding himself in one of the VIP booths. He looked down, eyes widening in horror as he saw what was being acted out on stage.

“No…” he swallowed hard, unable to look away.

_A young Akechi bit his lip as he followed his mother. “Mother, please, talk to me. What’s wrong? Mother? Are you okay?” He tugged on her sleeve, trying to get her attention. “Mother! Please, answer me! What happened? Are you sick? Ma!” The little boy kept trying to get her attention as they were walking outside, towards a bridge._

_She didn’t seem to hear a word._

_Step by step they got closer to the bridge, the young Akechi becoming almost frantic with worry as he tried to stop his mother._

_But. Nothing. Helped. Nothing. Stopped. Her._

_They moved onto the bridge. Akechi tried to grab her once more but she shoved him back. The child whimpered as he fell down. “M-ma…”_

_The woman didn’t pause. Instead she climbed onto the bridge railing… then spread her arms as if she were going to fly._

_“MA!” The child jolted to his feet, lunging for her. Trying to grab her… but she fell forward, his fingers grasping air as she fell from his grasp. He scrambled to try to get over the railing, to follow her, to save her!_

_Strong arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him back as he saw her floating. Face down. Not even trying to move. The child screamed and struggled frantically. Sobbing, calling for his mother…_

_But she was gone._

_Gone…_

“NO!” Akechi gripped the railing of the VIP booth, his eyes wide in horror as he watched that scene play out once more. Had he not seen it a thousand times, in his dreams? Did he not relive it again and again? “No…” he rasped. Sinking to his knees, resting his head against the booth wall. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault… I didn’t… I didn’t stop her. I should have stopped her.”

_“You were a child,”_ Loki countered. His voice soft, for once.

“She hated me, so she killed herself,” Akechi rasped.

“ _She loved you_ ,” Loki argued.

“… if she loved me, why did she leave me alone?” Akechi’s eyes met Loki’s a moment before looking down at the stage. “She left me… alone…” a sob caught in his throat as he pulled back. Unable to look at the scene any longer.

“ _You’re not seeing the full picture,”_ Robin insisted, appearing nearby. “ _You use logic to solve crimes. You have to distance yourself, look at the facts, not the emotions. Think. What happened just before this?”_

“ _And what does this appear like? It’s just like something you know about. The mental shut downs.”_ Loki added.

Akechi clutched his head. “Mental… mental shutdown? So she was forced to…” he swallowed hard, trying to reign in his thoughts. “Who killed her then? Was that ordered by Shido? Did he have someone working in mementos even then? Or was there…was there someone else? Someone that… that might be using Shido?” He looked down at the stage again, hands trembling as he watched the scene play through again. “I… I can’t do this right now. I can’t…”

_‘Let’s go home then.’_ Robin encouraged. ‘ _We won’t get anything done, if you can’t think clearly.’_

’ _We need allies. If this is how you’ll react to every obstacle, we’ll never get far in the palace.’_ Loki grunted. ‘ _I know it’ll be hard, but these scenes… I suspect they’re all things that you need to face and resolve. If you don’t, not even Joker with Satenael could help you. Perhaps support to help you face them is needed, but in the end, they must be faced.’_

Akechi sucked in a slow breath, forcing himself to straighten. “And there’s no telling how many of these scenes they are. Every vip booth has the potential to hold a different one. I…” he swallowed, then shook his head. He dug a goho-m out of his pocket and used it to escape the palace. He didn’t leave the metaverse yet, though. He fled back to his home, moving inside and slamming the door shut behind him. Then he turned, tearing his helmet off then leaning forward. Resting his head against Loki.

He punched Loki, his persona taking the blow with a grunt, just letting it happen. Again, and again. Just starting to sob as he punched it. Releasing the pent up pain until he was exhausted. He sank to his knees, resting his forehead against Loki and just resting there. Closing his eyes. Listening to… to nothing. He felt Loki rub his back soothingly, but nothing could sooth the ache inside right now.

A sigh, then the ap was tapped. Returning him to the real world. He drew his knees to his chest, resting his head on them and just sitting on the floor in his entryway. His pain unseen by the world as silent tears stained his cheeks.

How was he supposed to face… that? He wasn’t sure he could ask for help, who would he ask? He’d shared small bits of his past with Akira, but he’d never let himself be venerable. Never shared the reason he hurt so much. If Akira remembered the loop, would the guy even give him a chance?

“D-damn it.” Akechi pulled himself to his feet, moving to the kitchen and running some water. He splashed himself with cold water, trying to shock himself out of the depressed state.

“There’s got to be a way. There’s always a way.” He rubbed his face a moment then sighed. Tomorrow…if he remembered correctly, tomorrow would be the day Akira came to Tokyo.

Tomorrow was the day Igor’s damn game truly started again.


	5. Akira - First Day in Tokyo... Again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saying Akira is surprised would be a desperate understatement. Waking up on the subway, on the first day of his probation. Finding things from the first loop in his bag, not having Morgana with him chatting away... then actually seeing Akechi. Alive- and in casual clothes at that.  
> Could the day get any stranger?  
> ...most likely.

Akira Kurusu woke with a start, eyes darting side to side as he came to on the subway. Brow furrowed as he registered everything he was seeing.

This… wait, what? This was wrong. This was… was wrong. He’d been home, reading a book. Morgana had been talking about wanting to visit Ann… then why was he here? On the subway? Where was Morgana?

He tugged his phone out, staring at it for a moment.

The ap should be gone, but there it was. Staring at him. Unblinking. He tapped it, but there were no entries. He couldn’t feel Arsene, couldn’t sense any of the persona he’d gained or fused over the last year. Everything felt so… so normal. Like it had before his adventure as a Phantom Thief began. He didn’t like that feeling. He didn’t like the way there was no chatty Morgana in his bag. The feline had become a constant companion, as constant as his persona.

He shook his head, looking at the phone again to check the date and time. April 9th. April 9th?! He checked the year before lowering his phone, a look of disbelief on his face.

April 9th. His first day in Tokyo. The first day of his probation.

The attendant’s caution had been right. For some reason… time had looped. She had said she sensed it, but he hadn’t taken her seriously. His team had defeated the final boss. The metaverse had vanished, too. Morgana had vanished for a time, then returned. All things signs that the game was over. Now, now… time had actually looped. He was back at the start. Starting from scratch. Why? Who forced things to loop?

He sighed, checking his bag. He found some chocolates inside, along with a few different things. Gifts that different people had given him before he headed home after his probation was over. Would anyone else remember, or would he have to start from scratch with everyone? He dreaded seeing Shiho getting hurt again. Was there a way he could prevent that? Could he get Futaba to open up earlier? Could he help Sae before she formed a palace? Could he help Haru, and help make sure her father didn’t end up dead? He didn’t know. He really didn’t understand what was going on.

Well, he had a couple days before he’d meet Ryuji. Hopefully between now and then he could figure things out. Maybe Lavenza would be able to explain things. Hopefully she was still herself. But what if she wasn’t? What if he was greeted by the twins again? What if Igor was once again locked away with that damn god in his place, pretending? It made his head pound, just trying to think about it all.

A soft sigh escaped as he got off the subway and started walking. Finding himself pausing in the center of the square, seeing Arsene materialize off in the distance for a brief moment as everything froze around him. “Arsene… what the hell is going on?”

The question remained unanswered.

Maybe he’d been given a chance, he mused, making his way down to the subway and getting on. Last time, last time he’d failed. Everyone said he won, that they finished the ‘game’ that damn god put them through but to him, he’d failed. They’d lost a team member. Akechi Goro. He’d fought against them, sure, but he was still a team member. In the end, he’d been killed by Shido’s cognition of him. He’d sacrificed himself… for them. Sometimes Akira wondered just what had happened that pushed Akechi that far. Why had Akechi been so desperate to destroy his father, enough so he was willing to accept death to do so? The detective prince always wore a plastic smile, it was hard to get close to him. To see where the guy’s pain came from. While the Phantom Thieves had managed to help many people, they’d never been able to help the person that Akira thought needed it most. Though what could they do? Akechi already had his persona. There’d be no palace of shadow. No way to change his heart.

Akira had never been able to forgive himself. What if he’d started talking to Akechi sooner? What if they’d gotten to know each other from the start? Would things have been different then?

Would he have been able to save Akechi?

Akechi. The detective prince with the plastic smile, always appearing cheerful, but with those quiet moments of sorrow when he thought no one was looking. An amazing actor, and a great ally. One with a beautiful smile, when it was a true smile. He’d only seen Akechi truly smile a couple times.

It was something he hoped to see more often. How though? How could he manage it?

His eyes wandered as he got off the subway to Yongen-Jaya. It was all so familiar, and all looked the same as it had last time he was here. He moved up the stairs and onto the street, quietly walking towards LeBlanc. He knew where it was, he didn’t need to somehow find directions to it like he had the first time.

Then again, he wasn’t expected to go straight there. He had some time before he had to report in, he could explore a bit. Maybe pick up a few things that he knew he’d end up wanting, come Monday. That way he wouldn’t be diving into the metaverse without any supplies.

There was no reason he couldn’t do that.

So he wandered. He stopped by the batting cage, smiling absently as he remembered the time he’d spent here in the past. Would Akechi enjoy coming here? He’d never seen Akechi doing much to relax. Maybe swinging the bat and hitting the baseballs would help the detective prince vent. The guy certainly needed it. What else could he do with him, though? Maybe take him to the diner at times. Or just explore the city with him. Akira was sure that Akechi knew Tokyo far better then he did. Maybe the guy could show him places that he hadn’t explored before.

He was coming down the stairs from the batting cage when he almost ran into someone. “Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there,” he apologized, stepping back.

“I didn’t see you either,” the familiar voice sighed. “My apologies.”

Akira blinked, doing a double take as he saw the familiar smiling face. The smile was that charming television smile that had been perfected from months of practice. Akechi. Akechi was alive. ‘ _Of course he is you idiot, time looped,’_ he reminded himself. “It’s alright,” Akira assured him. What the heck was Akechi doing in Yongen-Jaya? He’d never seen the guy around here before, other then the times he was visiting LeBlanc for coffee.

He watched as Akechi nodded, trying to read the other’s face. Did Akechi remember at all? Or did he have no memory of what happened last loop? It was impossible to tell, Akechi had an amazing poker face. Thinking back, the only times he’d seen the other drop his guard was in LeBlanc, when he was drinking coffee and seeming depressed. He’d always seemed so… sad, the few times he caught the other like that.

His mind was racing as he saw Akechi turn to move away. “Um…”

Akechi paused, eyebrows lifting slightly as he looked at Akira.

Akira ducked his head a little, absently noting that Akechi was wearing jeans. _Jeans._ That was the most casual outfit he’d ever seen Akechi in. Jeans, a white button-up shirt, and were those sneakers? He hadn’t thought Akechi even owned sneakers. It was still more formal then casual but… far more casual then he ever remembered seeing. “I just got to Yongen-Jaya, I’m honestly a bit lost. I need to find the home I’m staying at, was hoping to learn the area a bit before I headed over there though.” It was a lie. He knew the area by heart, and he knew he’d be staying at the café, not Sojiro’s home. Still… it gave him an excuse to hang out with Akechi for a little while. His eyes lifted, catching Akechi’s gaze. Those red eyes were studying him, as if the guy was trying to measure him. Did he see disappointment in Akechi’s eyes? He wasn’t sure.

“Well,” Akechi’s voice broke the silence, “I’m free for the afternoon. If you’d like a tour of the area, I don’t mind giving one.” His hand was offered, the trademark smile on the guy’s face. “I’m Akechi Goro. You are?”

Akira smiled gratefully, taking Akechi’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “Kurusu Akira. Though please, just call me Akira.” He released Akechi’s hand, reaching up and adjusting his glasses absently. Even after spending a whole year with the fool things he still wasn’t used to them. He understood the reasoning behind them but still… he’d always be more comfortable without them on.

“Akira,” Akechi repeated the name thoughtfully. “A pleasure to meet you.” He scanned the area a moment before focusing on Akira once more. “Most people would say there’s not much in the area, but there is a fair bit more then most people think. The batting cages is an example of that- not many people would think to look for those, here of all places.” “The residential area is this way. I’ll point out a few places as we walk, alright?”

“Sure, that sounds great to me,” Akira agreed. Falling into step beside the other teen. He listened as Akechi pointed out the vending machines, noting they restocked every Monday. The small grocery store- the worker greeted Akechi cheerfully, mentioning they were having a special tomorrow morning. He was surprised when Akechi chatted with the person at the pawn shop. The two seemed to be on good terms. The detective prince even bought some things while they were there.

“For my bicycle,” Akechi explained as he put some wires and a new pair of pliers in his pocket. “I have to repair it sometimes, this is the best place to get materials for that, at a fair price.”

“Makes sense,” Akira mused. He remembered getting a number of things here. A game console, a laptop, and other things. It was a useful stop; he just wasn’t sure why Akecih was so comfortable here.

“The movie theater here is closed at the moment,” Akechi pointed it out. “Across the street is a doctor’s clinic. Nicknamed Plague. She’s…” he paused, then shrugged. “Unique. She’s highly skilled, and a good place to go if you get sick.”

“Plague?” Akira looked at the clinic curiously.

“Not sure why,” Akechi admitted, “I’ve only been once since I moved to the area, but people talk.” He shrugged, then continued walking. Pointing out the residential areas.

“You live in the area?” Akira was honestly surprised to hear that. He’d never learned where Akechi lived, before. Though he was certain it hadn’t been in this area. He would have seen Akechi more often, or Morgana would have commented.

“I do. Haven’t been here long but… it’s a decent area. What house are you looking for?”

“Sojiro.”

“Ah.” Akechi led Akira to that home. “This is his place, though he’d likely at the café still. He runs a café called LeBlanc. Not far from here. There are a few eating places on a side street, his café is one of them.”

“Lead the way,” Akira said cheerfully. Several eating places? Huh… he remembered seeing two other places, but he’d never bothered stopping in and checking them out. Maybe he’d try their food sometime this loop.

Akechi nodded and led Akira back the way they’d come. Though he did pause at the store and ask if they had any rough sponges. He purchased two, seeming rather happy to get them, before leading Akira on.

“Those to clean your bike?” Akira asked.

“Ah, no.” Akechi shook his head. “It seems that two pans I purchased that were supposedly non-stick… are not non-stick. So it’s either attempt to get them clean, or give up and buy new ones.”

“What stuck on?” Now Akira was curious.

“…an attempt at pancakes.”

“You burned on pancakes?”

“…”

“In two pans. Two non-stick pans.” Akira tried not to laugh, he really did, but he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “That’s… impressive.”

Akechi gave him a half-hearted glare. “I never managed to make them either. I don’t cook often.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What? I’m usually too busy to cook.”

“I could teach you,” Akira offered. “Though not sure if I’ll be allowed out of the house on evenings or not.”

“Why?” Akechi turned onto the road the café was on, leading Akira down the path.

“Well I…” Akira frowned, then shook his head. “It’s… complicated.”

“I’ve heard many complicated stories. I am a rookie detective,” Akechi glanced at Akira, then ahead again. “Café LeBlanc is right here,” he pointed it out. “Then there are two eating places just beyond it. On the opposite side of the path is a bathhouse, and a laundromat. The international eatery has a core menu, then different specials each day of the week. It can be a fun stop.”

“Nice. I’ll have to check it out sometime.” Akira rocked back on his heels. “Where do you live? Maybe we can hang out some? If you’re not busy, I mean.” He paused, “You must be top of your class, if you’re able to take time to be a detective, and do school. Pretty sure I’m behind on classes, since I had to change schools mid semester. Any chance you could help me study, some?”

Akechi held his chin a moment, seeming to consider that. “Maybe. It’s hard to know when I have afternoons free. I’m often kept busy with work, school or other things.”

“I’ll help you with some cooking if you help me with the studying,” Akira suggested. “We can combine the two.”

Akechi sighed. “You’re persistent… alright. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Great!” Akira lit up, then pouted slightly when Akechi lifted a hand.

“One condition,” Akechi clarified.

“And that is?”

“You tell me your ‘complicated story.’ The whole of it. You’ve gotten me curious, and I hate having a question and not getting the answer.”

Akira sighed softly. “Alright. That’s… reasonable.” He didn’t remember telling Akechi the story or not. Not that it mattered now, Akechi didn’t seem to be remembering anything anyway. Perhaps that was a good thing.

“Good.” Akechi sighed, then led Akira to the walkway between the two eateries. “This is where I live,” he motioned to the door at the end of the walkway. “Just two buildings down from the café.”

Akira blinked. Akechi lived this close to the café? If he was that close, that meant he should be able to find reasons to hang out with Akechi a lot more often. Maybe he could get Akechi to help out with the first palace. He wasn’t sure if Akechi would try to stop them or not but… but maybe it would help Akechi change his view on things. If he was brought into the group far earlier. Maybe the others would accept Akechi better, if he joined them sooner. Though there was also the risk. What if the team did remember things? Remember that Akechi betrayed them? Would they give him a chance?

He desperately hoped they would give him a chance. He’d have to keep a close eye on things, watch close to see if any of them started remembering things. If they showed any signs of remembering he’d have to try to trigger their memories early… then convince them to give Akechi a chance.

Yes… that’s what he’d have to do. He had to find a way to make this work.

“Akira?”

Akira blinked as he heard Akechi say his name. “Oh, sorry. Was thinking.”

“Obviously,” there was a tease in Akechi’s voice.

Akira smiled. He didn’t remember hearing that tone in Akechi’s voice before. “I best check in with Sojiro. Mind coming in with me? He might be willing to let me be out in the evening, if he knows I’ll be studying with you. Or at least knows I know you.”

“You think he’s going to keep you on a tight leash?”

“Yeah…wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”

“Why?” Akechi asked.

“Well, it’s-“

“Complicated.” Akechi rolled his eyes.

“Mmm…” Akira walked to café LeBlanc with Akechi.

The two moved inside, Akechi greeting Sojiro with a nod. “Afternoon.” He offered the man his television smile and took a seat at the bar.

“Your usual?” Sojiro grunted.

“Please.” Akechi nodded to him. “Oh, right… Akira. What’s your number?”

Akira tugged his phone out, giving Akechi his number. Smiling as he got the detective’s number back. He had remembered it. Had it memorized. Though he pretended not to know it. He was glad Akechi was giving it to him now- it would have been hard to not call him, check on him.

“Maybe you can help me with some cooking tomorrow,” Akechi suggested. “I have most of the day free.”

“Pretty sure I have to go to Shujin tomorrow…”

“Because you just transferred in, right?” Akechi considered that. “Unfortunate to have to do that on a Sunday, though I can see why you need to do it right away.”

“You could come over for supper tomorrow though,” Akira offered. “If that’s okay with…” he glanced up at Sojiro.

Sojiro sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re not using my kitchen until you prove you can cook. But if Akechi buys some food and brings if over, you two can eat here tomorrow evening.” He set a mug of coffee in front of Akechi. “Staying for curry?” He hummed when he saw the nod. “Right. I need to get this guy settled in, then I’ll come down and get you some.” He sighed, “Come on.” He moved around the counter, glancing at Akira then leading him upstairs to the attic.

Once at the top of the stairs, Sojiro turned to look at Akira. “Look, I know your situation. You stuck your nose into a situation. Tried to help out some woman, a powerful guy got himself hurt and you’re stuck with a record. One wrong move and you’re out of here, got that?” He scratched the back of his neck. “Sheesh… but making friends with the detective prince your first day here. What are the chances of that? Maybe if you stick around him you’ll stay out of trouble.” The man chuckled then sighed. “Right… anyway, you’ll be staying up here.” He motioned to the space at the top of the stairs. The café attic.

“It’s…” Akira paused, eyes scanning the room. It was huge. An open floor, some crates in the back with a futon on them. A desk coated in dust and cobwebs to one side. A table, a counter… a bookcase, random stuff all over the floor.

A mess. A total, royal mess. Exactly as he remembered it.

…but… home. He’d come to feel like this was home, during the year he stayed here. Technically it was all new, due to the weird time loop… thing. Still, it felt like home. “It’s big.” He offered Sojiro a smile, setting his bag on the counter.

“You tend to cleaning it up,” Sojiro grunted. “I at least got you sheets for your bed. You’ll be alone at night. No going out or getting into trouble alright?”

“Is it okay if I invite Akechi over to visit at times?”

Sojiro cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m sure I’m behind in school due to missing time, he said he’s willing to tutor some,” Akira added, trying to get the man to agree. “And I offered to teach him some cooking. Though if you don’t want us using your kitchen, I’d have to go over to his place in the evenings, for that.”

Sojiro sighed. “Fine. He can come over. Just don’t make a mess. As for the other… if you can behave for a few days and show me you’re not getting into trouble, I’ll let you. You need to prove yourself first though.” He turned to head back downstairs. “Don’t sleep in. We’re headed to Shujin tomorrow to get you registered for classes.”

“Of course. Looking forward to it.” Akira nodded to the man.

Sojiro sighed. “What a strange kid… sheesh, how’d I get myself into this?” He headed down the stairs, muttering to himself about crazy-ass ideas. Moving to prepare the curry for Akechi.

Akira rubbed his face once Sojiro was gone, a low sigh escaping. “Damn…” He turned, searching a moment before finding a mop, bucket, broom and duster. He got to work cleaning and putting his things away. On the whole, he was very happy with how this afternoon had gone, but at the same time… he was so confused.

Why had time looped?

Would things be the same?

Would Akechi betray him again?

Could he prevent that?

… was he the only one that remembered?

He had so many questions, but no answers. Well… all he could do now is see what tomorrow would bring.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be a disaster.


	6. Akechi- New Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems like everything is new, today. Some good, some bad. New information, new questions, new persona, new worries, new plans... a new friend.

The clock on the nightstand read 4am as Akechi found himself just staring at his bedroom ceiling. Dwelling on the events of yesterday. He hadn’t expected to run into Akira. He’d known the guy came to Tokyo that day, though he hadn’t expected to run into him like that. He knew Akira was on probation, but he’d never gotten the full story on why. He’d helped prove the Phantom Thief had nothing to do with the shutdowns, but the reason behind the probation was something he’d never learned the whole of. Framed for something, though beyond that he wasn’t sure. Or maybe he had known, and it was one of the things he hadn’t remembered. It was hard to know for certain. There were so many details piling on top of each other. He still found himself stiffening a little each time he ran into someone that died last loop. It was hard to process the fact that they should, in fact, be dead… but somehow still lived.

Would have been particularly hard for Akira, if the guy remembered. The way the teen had acted yesterday suggested he did not. Akira hadn’t seemed to have the confidence he had, later on in the year. Later on, Akira had been so confident… flirty and sure of himself. Akechi could close his eyes and picture that little smirk Akira would have as the guy leaned over the counter, pouring him a cup of coffee. Asking him if he wanted cream or sugar- and putting some in before Akechi could even respond. Always seeming to know just how to fix it, to suit him. The way Akira would prowl along in the metaverse, ending battles with such a flare for drama that Akechi found himself pulled in. Wanting to celebrate victories with the others.

Would he get to see that again? Or would things be different this time?

He wanted more, though, and he knew it. Wanted private time with Akira. Time with just the two of them, to watch a movie with him or just chat. Hidden away from the world, no worries other then how to spend the next hour or two.

Like that could ever happen. No… as long as this game was happening there would never be a chance to really relax, and be worry free.

So long as his palace was in play, he wouldn’t be able to feel safe. He knew that all too well. What if someone managed to get to his shadow? What if someone killed _his_ shadow? Or even wounded it. So long as he had a palace, he was in a lot of danger. The fact someone else knew about it before he did was chilling. Just how many people had been into his palace? He should try to set up a camera or something. See if there was any way to monitor who came and went. Though how the heck would he do that? He honestly didn’t know.

Maybe his shadow would know? But would it even be safe to talk to his own shadow? He didn’t know.

Akechi rolled onto his side, staring at the wall.

He was glad that Sojiro was giving Akira a ride to school today. That meant there was no chance of Akira being caught in the crash. He’d have to be more careful, make sure that any shutdowns happened while Akira was in classes or something. He didn’t want to risk putting Akira in any additional danger.

 _‘Seems like Akira’s really on your mind,’_ Loki teased. _‘I wonder how he’d react if you kissed him?’_

Akechi huffed, cheeks warming as he heard his persona teasing him. “S-shut it.” He rose, getting ready for the day.

He was out of the house by five am. Earlier then most kids woke for school. He mounted his bike, heading to the park and taking time to ride there. Just enjoying the early morning. The sound of the birds singing and the peaceful breeze. He stopped by a diner just off the park, getting himself some breakfast there and taking time to enjoy it.

Tonight was bound to be interesting. He’d be having dinner with Akira. He wasn’t sure what to get, though. What sort of food did the leader of the Phantom Thieves like, anyway? Was he the sort of guy to prefer steak, or sushi? Maybe ramen? All he knew for sure was that Akira liked curry. Personally, spicy stuff didn’t do it for him. A soft groan escaped as he remembered how he’d eaten the one spicy bite at the school festival. He’d ended up fleeing to the bathroom and throwing up. He just couldn’t do the really spicy stuff. He preferred sweeter food.

Hmm… maybe sushi. He knew a good place, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. Normally he wouldn’t spend a lot of money- work as a rookie detective really didn’t give him much of an income- but he liked to splurge once in a while. It would be nice to spoil Akira a little. Especially after Akira had spoiled him so many times with good coffee, or the few times the guy had made him pancakes.

After calling the sushi place he had in mind and placing an order for that evening, Akechi made his way home. He left his bike inside and fetched a few healing supplies before making his way to the subway. He found a place out of sight from any cameras, then entered the metaverse.

Mementos seemed to be different, today. There was this static energy in the air, a nervous charge. Akechi started down the stairs, sticking to Robin for now as he made his way down. He walked down one path then another. Going slow, creeping close to the different shadows and just listening. Seeing if any of them had information on what was going on. When that gave him nothing he ambushed a shadow. He recognized the shadow he was fighting, knew he could down it easily with a gun attack- or kill the stupid thing with a melee attack. He shifted his weight, thinking he’d end this swiftly before pausing, thinking back to his time with Akira. Akira had often knocked the shadows down then spoken to them. Sometimes getting them to join, sometimes getting money or items out of them.

Would they talk to him?

He checked his inventory, grabbing the weakest gun he had on hand. He dodged an attack from the shadow then lifted his gun, firing a quick shot. He grinned, moving forward when the shadow was downed. He aimed at the shadow, “I want some intel. What’s going on in mementos today? Why is everything so worked up?”

The shadow whined, eying the gun nervously. “I don’t know…” it started inching away.

Akechi fired, the bullet striking just beside the shadow, startling it.

“You know something.”

The shadow bit its- her- lip. A fairy, Akechi noted. “There’s someone else in here today. The Black Mask,” she said softly. “He does things. Scary things. Most of us try to avoid him.”

“Who is he? What’s his name?”

“I don’t know!” The fairy wailed, “Truly I don’t! I just know he likes fancy terms. Law stuff. P-please, please let me go!”

“Law stuff?” So someone in law enforcement? A detective or cop. Maybe a lawyer. He sighed, lowering his gun slightly. He eyed the fairy a moment then tugged out a healing item, tossing it to her. “Here. Heal up and get out of here. I’m going down three more floors. There’s someone I’m after there. Fair warning, I’m apt to be enraged after that. I know it’s going to set me off. I suggest warning any of your friends to clear out… I’ll be seeing red when I come back upstairs.”

The fairy blinked, catching the item. It looked at Akechi curiously then nodded slowly. “Alright. Wow, you’re not as bad as I thought.” The fairy turned, quickly flying away.

Akechi snorted, “Not as bad as she thought…” he sighed, holstering his gun. “No… I’m far worse.” He looked down at himself.

Black Mask. In mementos, today. Would he run into whomever it was? Would he get the chance to learn the truth? Hard to say, and right now he had a job to do.

Reaching his target of the day was easy. Akechi checked the time before moving forward. He didn’t try talking to this shadow, instead just calling on Loki and hitting the shadow with Loki’s ability. He hissed as he felt the backlash, his eyes snapping a brilliant red. He clutched his temples, a deep chuckle escaping as he felt the sudden bloodlust.

Eyes moved to the shadow, watching as the shadow collapsed to the ground, convulsing. He was tempted to lunge forward and finish it off, but felt Loki holding him back.

“So, this is how Shido’s dog works,” a gravely voice mocked.

Akechi’s head snapped around, eyes darting here and there as he searched for the source of the voice. He spotted a tall form not far away. The man wore a black helmet mask that resembled the mask he wore with Loki almost to a T. Though the guy’s eyes showed blue, not red. The mask pitch black, no tint of red. The man had on a black shirt that was torn in several places, multiple leather belts wrapped around his waist, dark blue pants. No cape or cloak, dark blue gloves. “Who are you?”

The man smirked, “None of your business,” he teased.

The guy had something to alter his voice, Akechi noted. Smart, maybe he should have used one of those. Though it’s not like anyone he went after in the metaverse was aware of who he was- or could tell anyone after.

“Fine. Then what are you here for?” Akechi demanded, hand gripping the handle of his gun.

He was right to be wary.

“Baldr Picaro!” The Black Mask called, his persona appearing behind him with a laugh. “Megidalaon!”

“Oh shit,” Akechi swore and took a step back. There was no way he could avoid that attack, not in as little amount of space as he had. He watched the attack coming at him, then frowned as he heard a cry. He looked around in confusion, confusion growing when he saw the fairy from earlier. Or was it a fairy? There was something different about it now. She’d taken the blow for him.

“Loki!” Akechi called on his persona, having Loki use an attack on the other persona.

The attack did no damage.

 _‘He’s too strong. I can’t touch him like this,’_ Loki fumed.

Akechi grit his teeth. “Use our ability then.”

“ _You’re sure?’_

“Just do it damn it!”

Loki nodded and started charging the ability. Needing to strike extra hard to get past this enemies defenses.

Akechi moved to the fairy, checking on it. The shadow just chuckled then seemed to shimmer. “I’m no shadow… nor is this my true form. I was created by a wish to guide you. I am Sigyn. I will be a new mask for you.” The persona shimmered, changing form for a moment to show a beautiful goddess before it shifted into a mask and merged with his own.

“The hell…”

 _‘Can you hear me?’_ Sigyn asked. ‘ _Once Loki uses his ability call on me. Use my gaia attack.’_

“An earth attack? I didn’t think earth was used in-“

_‘Just use it!”_

Akechi watched as Loki’s attack hit the strange man. The Black mask stumbled back then snarled, lifting his gun and emptying his clip at Akechi. Akechi managed to dodge the bullets, barely. “Sigyn, use gaia!”

The goddess appeared. Her long hair braided back, no weapons to be seen. She made a fist with one hand and struck it against the palm of her other hand. As she did, a fist of stone shot up from the ground, slamming into the black mask user- some thorns that also came up, poisoning the man.

The man swore and turned, starting to flee. He stumbled now and then, having trouble seeing straight.

Akechi snarled. His eyes crimson as he gave chase. The side effects of Loki’s ability making it hard to think straight.

The man made it to the exit of mementos before Akechi did. That man left, Akechi on his tail. Akechi found himself in the subway area a moment later, eyes darting side to side as he tried to tell who had just left. He heard something and turned, grunting when a fist connected with his face. He stumbled back, swearing. Not recovering in time to give chase to whomever had punched him.

He groaned as he heard people talking. “Damn it…”

Akechi fled the subway, moving to his house and going inside. He washed the blood off his face, then tried to ice the area that had already bruised. He wasn’t sure what was hurting more- his face, or his ego. Beyond that, he was confused. Loki and Robin were his persona… how did he gain that third one? He shouldn’t be able to do that.

 _‘You are a wildcard.’_ Sigyn pointed out. _’Wildcards can carry multiple persona.’_

Akechi sighed. “No shit…” He touched under his eye, wincing as he felt the bruise. Seemed like Igor was keeping him in the dark on things. He knew he’d called on two shadows last loop, in that one battle… but those had been one time summons. Summons trapped in items that Igor gave him to use.

Akechi rested for a good hour before moving to pick up the sushi he’d ordered. Several people made comments on the bruise, asking about it. He just sighed and brushed them off. Most of them were just fangirling over him and wanting attention, anyway. He wasn’t in the mood to be charming today. Though he still put on his smile, inwardly cursing them as he wished them a good day and moved on his way.

Akira and Sojiro were already in the café by the time Akechi finally got there. He was half tempted to turn around and walk out when Sojiro gave him a look. “What the hell happened to you?” The older man huffed.

Akechi shook his head. “Rather not talk about it.”

Sojiro sighed, “You sure? Looks like you were hit pretty hard.”

“It was nothing,” Akechi assured them, setting the bag of food on the counter.

Sojiro pursed his lips then turned, searching through the freezer a moment before pulling out an ice pack. He set it on the counter. “Lock up once he leaves, and don’t stay up late. You’ve got school tomorrow.” Sojiro sighed and headed out of the café.

“Sooo…” Akira lifted the bag of food and moved it to a table. He emptied the bag, setting the food out then fetching them drinks. “Just what did happen?”

Akechi frowned, then sank into the seat with a sigh. “I was ambushed by someone. Got decked, then the guy ran before I had a chance to get a good look at him.”

“Does that happen often?” Akira frowned, “Should you report it?”

“NO, and no.” Akechi tugged his drink closer, sipping it.

“… mind if I call you Goro?”

Akechi cocked an eyebrow, looking up at Akira a moment before shrugging. “I… I guess. No one else ever does.”

“Why not? I think it’s a nice name.”

“Generally, only a person’s friends use something other than the family name.” Akechi lifted a piece of sushi, popping it into his mouth.

“Well then Goro, that means we’re friends,” Akira joked. He took a seat across from Goro, tugging his own food closer and starting to eat. “If the bruising doesn’t fade by morning, you should go see the doc. Just to be checked,” he encouraged.

“… will you stop fussing if I promise to?”

“Maybe?”

“Fine.” Goro ate another sushi. “How’d your day go?”

“Long.” Akira sighed, “I met my new homeroom teacher, got lectured. They all seem to think I’m going to be some problem kid. Then traffic was horrible on the way back. There was some accident on the subway- sounds pretty nasty.”

“Why do they think you’re going to be a problem kid? Other then the fact your hair is a disaster?”

“My hair is not a disaster,” Akira insisted.

“Can you even get a comb through it?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought.” Goro snickered when Akira stuck his tongue out at him. “Come on, we’ve got time. Just what’s your story?”

Akira sighed, poking one of the sushi with his chopsticks before lifting and eating it. “Well…” he poked another one.

“Pretty sure the fish is already dead.”

Akira snorted, “never hurts to be sure.” He relaxed a bit, “I’m going to tell the short version.”

“Good idea,” Goro agreed, “Otherwise you’ll never tell it.”

“Ug, you’re horrible you know that?” Akira pouted some, pout growing when Goro grinned. “Okay, okay, I’m telling.” He shook his head, leaning back in his seat. “I was on my way home from school. I’d stayed late to tutor a couple other students. On my way home I heard someone shouting for help. So I followed the sound, wanting to see what was wrong.” He frowned, eyes growing distant as he thought back. “There was a woman struggling against a man. Telling him to let go of her, that he was hurting her. He was trying to force her into his car. Was saying he was better than her, that she should just shut up and obey.

Someone overheard and called the cops, but he was still trying to force her. I went forward, told him to let her go. He took a swing at me, stumbled, fell… hurt himself. He blamed me for it, said he’d sue.” Akira sighed, “When the police came, he claimed I’d assaulted him. The woman was threatened and told to just confirm whatever he said. She was terrified, and obeyed.”

“So you were arrested on false charges,” Goro said softly. “That’s horrible.”

Akira nodded in agreement, staring at the food a moment before eating another sushi. “I was put in juvie. Thankfully Sojiro offered to take me in under probation. Pretty sure someone talked him into it… no clue who, though. He’s getting paid to keep an eye on me.”

Goro sipped his drink, considering the situation. “Do you know who the man was?”

Akira was silent. For a moment, Goro wondered if he’d heard the question. Then Akira sighed, “yeah, I know who it was. Not that it’ll do me any good. He’s a politician.”

“Oh? Who?”

Akira finished one more sushi, leaving the last one for Goro. “Shido Masayoshi.”

Goro’s hand paused just above the sushi piece, “What name did you say?”

“Shido Masayoshi,” Akira repeated. “He kept his name out of it, ordered the police to not put it on the records, even. They obeyed, like trained dogs.” He grimaced.

Goro stared at the sushi a moment before picking it up. “Believe it or not… you’re lucky.” He popped the last sushi into his mouth, eating it slowly.

“Lucky? Lucky to have to leave my home? To have to switch schools mid semester? To have a record?”

“Lucky to be alive.” Goro’s eyes met Akira’s for a moment before he rose, starting to gather the trash to take care of it. “Shido is… is a cruel man. Most people that get on his nerves end up dead. Likely the only reason he sued instead of having you killed is because he was too drunk to really pay attention to who you were.”

“You know him?” Akira’s brow furrowed.

Goro paused, then just offered Akira his television smile. “Not… really. He’s a politician. Rumor is he’s going to be running for Prime Minister, so his name is getting around. He’s been on a few talk shows. I’ve had to share a waiting room with him at the television station a few times. He’s proud, cocky, arrogant. I’m curious.” He shrugged, “So I’ve done a little digging into him. Though seems that most people that dig far, vanish.”

“That’s sick.” Akira shook his head. “Wait… did you just say you’re on tv? I’m friends with a television star?”

Goro laughed, “Oh please, no fangirling. I get that enough when I’m out and about during the day.”

“Can I have an autograph?” Akira looked at Goro innocently, grinning when Goro groaned. “Kidding, kidding! Seriously though, a tv star. That must be awesome.”

“You’d think so, but it really isn’t.” Goro shook his head. “Many people are only interested in me, because they think they can get their moment of fame by being photographed with me or something. That, and the media is a very fickle thing. It’s like a shark. Might let someone ride it for a while but the moment it senses blood…”

Akira hummed, “That’s certainly true. Sometimes I think those television hosts are some of the meanest people out there. All they care about is gossip.”

Goro sighed, “That is an understatement.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking.

“Uh-oh,” Akira tilted his head, a smirk dancing on his lips, “you look like you’re on some case.”

Goro shook his head. “If you were late at your school because you were tutoring someone, that suggests you’re a very good student. So why did you ask for me to tutor you? It doesn’t seem like something you’d actually need.”

“Ah, that… well I needed to give Sojiro a reason why you were coming over…”

“So you don’t actually need the tutoring?”

“Not sure yet, I’m not sure if the teachers are going to expect me to do catchup work or not.” Akira shrugged, “But a study partner never hurt anyone. Besides…I don’t have any friends around here yet, and it’s nice to spend time with you.”

Goro’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“I- I mean the company, I like the company. Geez, don’t putt words in my mouth.”

“I didn’t say a thing.”

“… shutting up now.”

“You’re still talking.”

“Well I’m just responding to you.”

“So you’re talking.”

Akira laughed, rolling his eyes. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“Me?” Goro smirked, “pretty sure you’re talking about yourself now.” He tugged his phone out when he heard the ringtone, lips pursing as he saw a text from Shido. He responded to it briefly, tucking his phone away again with a sigh.

“Something wrong?”

Goro’s eyes flit to Akira when he heard the concern in the other’s voice. “Just a work thing. It’s a pain sometimes.”

“How do you do it?”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, you’re still school age. You have to spend time on school work, and I’m sure you have to keep really high grades so you can skip classes. Then you’ve got work as a rookie detective. I’m sure that takes a lot of your time. Television appearances on top of all that? Do you even sleep?”

“What’s sleep?” Goro snorted at Akira’s expression, then sighed. “An average day can start anywhere between five and six am for me. I’m often out and about earlier then most people are awake. Before many of the stores are even open. Since my cooking skills are non-existent, I like to get to the bakeries or eateries first thing, so I can get the different breakfast breads while they’re still fresh. That, and I don’t get followed by a bunch of fans at that hour.”

“Seriously?” Akira sighed, “That’s insane. It can’t be healthy to be awake at that hour all the time.”

“It can be exhausting at times, but it keeps me busy. I dislike having nothing to do.”

Akira shook his head, “You can keep yourself busy without running yourself ragged. Do you ever just let yourself relax and have fun?”

“…”

Akira sighed. “Well, I’m not really allowed to wander about much, yet, but once Sojiro lets me explore more I’m having you show me around Tokyo. I’m sure you know a ton of little places that are fun to hang out in. It’ll give you a break from all the stress, and teach me about the area.”

“I don’t need a break,” Goro insisted. “If anything, that would just make it so I’m even busier. Besides I-“

“And I’ll make you pancakes sometimes, if you do it.”

“… so, where do you want to go first? Jazz club, aquarium, museum, book store…?”

Akira grinned. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”


	7. Wishing for a Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday, April 11th. Most things are repeating just as they had happened the first loop, for Akira. The rain, seeing Ann, running into Ryuji, the palace... meeting Morgana. He longs for his full team, but is just thankful to have some of it again.
> 
> Meanwhile, Akechi Goro finds himself wishing he had a team to back him up.

For Akira, the first day of school started just as he expected. The rain starting to fall as he came up the steps from the subway. He saw Ann for the first time… this loop. He saw the volleyball coach… and he met Ryuji. Ryuji was just as vulgar and aggressive as ever. In some odd way, it was refreshing. Though he did hope he could get Ryuji to be quieter this loop. They’d run into a lot of trouble, because that guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Everything just as he remembered.

That wasn’t strange, was it? Things happening the exact same way? Then again, with society and the weather as it was, there should be some differences. Things here and there that weren’t the exact same as they’d been the last time.

As he found himself in the palace dungeon with Ryuji, there was just this question that needled at him. He hadn’t summoned Arsene just yet, but he could already feel him. The contract was already in place, he just needed to summon the persona. But if it was already in place for him… would the others already have those links established? Established, but somehow not showing due to the person himself, or herself, not realizing it yet? He didn’t know. All of this, he knew how it would go. He knew what was going to happen. What if he changed things though? He knew this was all part of a game by the fake Igor. Just a damn game to entertain that being. But it wasn’t that being that made the rules- last he checked he killed that god last loop. If he could defy that god, to that extent… then he should have the power to change the game.

Right?

Well, it was worth trying.

As he summoned Arsene, escaping the cell with Ryuji, he felt a thrill darting along his spine. For all this was a game, he loved being in the metaverse. The thrill of the challenges, the puzzles, the fighting, the danger. Maybe he was mad to find it all enjoyable. It was dangerous, but at the same time it was so freeing. Here, in the depths of society, he was free from society. An ironic twist on things.

When he and Ryuji found Morgana, Akira was more then happy to free the feline. He scooped the cat up, giving him a hug.

“H-hey! Let me down!” Morgana meowed. “I’m not some toy to be carried around!”

Akira grinned. Oh yes, he was. This was nothing compared to the button mashing, though... “Sorry. I’ve just missed you.”

“Missed me?” Morgana scowled, not understanding. “What do you mean, missed me? We only just met!”

Akira chuckled and scratched behind Morgana’s ears, smirking as the feline started to purr.

“We’ve met before.” He looked at Ryuji, then Morgana before sighing. “It’s complicated, and right now we need to escape this place.” He set Morgana down then crouched so he was on the same level as the feline. “We have met in the past. We fought together and worked together. I know you likely think I’m nuts but… your persona is Zorro. Wind element. You use a slingshot for a long-range weapon, a sword for melee. You go a little bonkers when you come across treasure.”

Morgana’s eyes bugged out. “How do you know all that?!?”

“And you,” Akira turned to Ryuji. “Can’t you hear him in your mind?” He tapped the side of Ryuji’s head. “You know the name. Captain Kidd.”

Ryuji blanched. “I _have_ been hearing someone callin themselves Captain Kidd. But how the hell would you know about that?”

“We’ll talk more once we’re safe,” Akira said firmly. “Now come on, let’s get moving.” The group moved across the bridge, running into some guards.

“Shit! Shit shit shit man this isn’t good,” Ryuji cursed.

“Heh, amateur,” Morgana scoffed. The feline called on his persona, taking care of the enemy easily.

The group continued forward, fighting a few more shadows. Ryuji scowled as he saw different prisoners, recognizing some of them. “The hell man?!”

“They’re not real,” Akira assured him. “Come on, we’ve got to keep going.”

“We can’t just leave them here.”

“Ug, come ooon,” Morgana insisted. “The guards will swarm us if we stay in one place too long.”

“Alright, alright!” Ryuji huffed and followed them.

Akira had to bite back a smile. Yep… same old Ryuji. The guy really didn’t change much.

It was a relief when they made it out of the palace. Akira scanned the area once they were outside, a breath of relief escaping. Morgana hadn’t followed them out, insisting he had something to do. Akira was disappointed in that, honestly. He’d wanted to hug the furball again and explain things to the two. But the way Morgana had looked at him made him think the feline thought he was nuts.

…maybe he was a bit nuts, but then again, he had to try _something._ If he could prompt the other’s memories at all… it would be something.

“Dude, what was all that?” Ryuji huffed, scowling a bit as he looked around. “Seriously man, how did you know all that? What’s going on?”

“Right now we need to get out of here and get to class,” Akira sighed. “Look, we can talk after school. Maybe on the roof? This is my first day of class… we’re both going to be in so much trouble.”

“Shit you’re right! But how do we even get out of here?”

Akira hummed, tapping the app on his phone.

“Come on,” Akira urged as they got back to the real world. “We’re already late enough.” He rested a hand on Ryuji’s back, making the guy move with him. He didn’t want to deal with the cops this time- and somehow, they avoided the cops. The two of them hurried to class.

Just like last time, Kamoshida met them on the front steps. The kids all knew about his record already. The teacher was annoyed with him. He ended up sitting behind Ann. So far, things were following the same path as before, but this time Ryuji was questioning things. Maybe, maybe if they could get things rolling sooner… hmm… maybe they could change how things went, this time?

His mind wasn’t on class that day, as the teachers taught. He’d already heard it all before. School was the same today, classes the same, rumors the same. Just what could he do, to shake things up?

-=-

While Akira was dealing with Ryuji and Kamoshida’s palace, Akechi Goro had taken a day off from work. The detective prince was currently in his own palace again, trying to figure out just how to proceed farther. The deeper into the palace he got the more confusing things were. He eventually came to an area where he honestly couldn’t see a way forward. There were some rafters high above him, and a few ledges that he might be able to stand on given the chance. He had no rope to use to climb up, though, and no way to get a rope that high up in the first place. He’d never run into an issue like this, at any other palace. There was always a way forward, sometimes there was just a trick to figuring it out. This time though… either he was missing something, or he just didn’t have the needed tools.

“Shit…” he scowled as he looked at the far platform. There was no way for him to get across from here. Even if he had Loki shift and leap, he wouldn’t be able to jump far enough without a running start- and there wasn’t enough room for a running start.

He tensed as he sensed something behind him. Dodging to the side he barely avoided being hit by Guy of Gisborne’s sword. Goro growled low, calling on Robin and engaging in battle. Robin managed to land a couple blows before Sigyn was brought out. The persona used an earth attack to encase Guy’s lower half in stone. With the shadow locked in place, it was easy for Robin to finish the shadow off.

It was draining, fighting like this. Now more then ever Goro was wishing he had a team to help him fight. His palace was overrun with shadows. More then he’d seen in some other palaces. It made no sense, just why were there so many of them? Beyond that, some shadows spawned in specific areas. If he left that area for a while and returned, there would be a new shadow in the first one’s place. Others? Others just vanished once beaten and weren’t replaced at all. Those ones even seemed to be aware of where they were. Almost like they had been brought in from the outside.

That couldn’t be possible though, could it?

His shoulders slumped as he made his way out of the palace. A Sheriff of Nottingham attacked him as he reached the entryway once more, managing to ambush him and knock him down. Goro swore as he felt several attacks hit before he managed to get back to his feet. Eyes snapped as he drew his blade, attacking hard. Not giving the enemy a chance to defend or dodge.

He was panting by the time that shadow turned into a black mist, body vanishing from where it had fallen. He huffed, collecting the filthy shirt the shadow had left behind. Maybe he could wash this thing and get something out of it? He wasn’t sure, but it was worth trying.

Eyes scanned the area as Goro searched for more enemies.

 _‘You’re tired. You should leave for today,’_ Sigyn insisted.

Goro just sighed. “Right… you’re right.” He didn’t want to leave yet, though. He wanted to make blood flow. His outfit for Robin was stained red from his fighting today, but only splattered, not soaked like it often was when he left Mementos.

Maybe that was a good thing.

Goro moved outside, walking to the gate. He rested a hand against the gateway, resting there a moment then walking home. He left the metaverse once he was inside his own house, flopping onto his couch with a groan. He glanced at his phone, staring at it a moment then typing in a text to Akira.

**Goro:** So, was your first day of school as horrible as you expected?

 **Akira:** Worse. Far far worse. Thankfully class just let out- I’ll be glad to get out of there. Today has been absolutely crazy! Can you come over to the café later today? I need to talk to you.

 **Goro:** I believe I can. I can be there in two hours. I need to tend to a few things before we meet.

 **Akira:** That’s fine. It’ll take me a bit to get home from school anyway. I’ll grab some takeout somewhere and bring it, so we can eat supper together.

 **Goro:** Isn’t the café still open for business at this hour?

 **Akira:** We’ll eat upstairs.

 **Goro:** … see you then.

Goro set his phone on the coffee table then grabbed a pillow, hugging it absently as he closed his eyes to take a nap. He didn’t think he’d have the energy to do anything, without getting a little shuteye.

-=-

“You look pleased with yourself,” Ryuji drawled. The guy was perched on top of a desk when Akira reached the school roof.

“I am.” Akira smiled.

“Right…” Ryuji scratched the back of his head. “So… what the hell was that this morning? The palace, the dungeon, that king…? Did that seriously all happen?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know what to think!” Ryuji groaned, hanging his head a moment before punching the desk. “It was all so damn real. And you, you didn’t seem surprised at all man. Like you’d seen it all before.”

“What if I said I have?”

Ryuji huffed, “Bull. That’s just not possible. I mean, seriously…” He rubbed his face.

Akira sighed, “I could explain it all but… I don’t think you’ll believe me until you figure it out for yourself. Think about it tonight- and focus on the voice of Captain Kidd you’ve been hearing. He is you, you are he.” Akira smirked, “I want to talk about it more- we _need_ to talk about it more, but I need you to believe me. Tomorrow after school we’ll meet up again, alright? Just think about it between now and then.”

Ryuji groaned, “Seriously?” He sighed, “Fine. Tomorrow then. I’m so damn confused right now.” He growled under his breath, fingers raking through his hair before he huffed, rising. “Tomorrow then?”

Akira nodded, “Tomorrow.”

“Oh, right! I should give you my number.” Ryuji tugged his phone out.

“I already have it,” Akira smirked, “And I know your password,” he teased.

“Dude, how?” Ryuji scowled, then sighed. “Shit man… is this really… really something that’s happened before? You shouldn’t know that. You only got to school today…”

Akira hummed, “Tomorrow.” He clasped Ryuji on the shoulder before turning and heading off. Now… to get some good food for supper, and head home.

Goro arrived at LeBlanc in two hours on the dot. He moved inside, nodding to the café owner in greeting. “Good afternoon.” He scanned the room, “Is Akira here?”

“Upstairs,” Sojiro grunted. “Go on up.”

“Thank you.” Goro moved past the goth doctor what was just taking a seat at the bar, heading upstairs. He slipped his shoes off once at the top of the stairs, setting those on the shoe rack. “Well, this is…”

“A mess?” Akira offered; voice cheerful. “Yeah, it is. I’ve been working at getting it clean but… it still needs some work. Might take a couple days to really tidy it up all the way. Come on, take a seat,” he motioned to the couch. There was a folding table set up with some takeout boxes perched on top of it. Ramen, from the scent.

“I could help you tidy up some,” Goro offered.

“Mmm… we’ll see.” Akira took a seat in one of the chairs.

“You said your day was nuts. What happened?” Goro sank onto the couch, relaxing as he watched Akira open the takeout boxes. He was passed one of them, and some chopsticks. He glanced inside, eyeing the food a moment and checking for anything spicy before taking a bite.

“I made sure it was mild,” Akira assured him.

“Thanks. I’m… not the best with spicy things.” Goro chuckled and ate another bite, relaxing further as he enjoyed the food.

“Well, I ended up late to school.” Akira sighed when Goro gave him a look. “It wasn’t on purpose! I’ve got this new app on my phone. I used it by accident while I was walking to school. Another kid and I got dragged into a place… it was nuts. We got to where the school should have been, and there was this giant castle, palace thing. There were men dressed up in old fashion armor all over the place.” He sighed, eyes moving to Goro, trying to read the other’s reaction. “Then when I finally did get to school I found out that the whole school knows about my record. It was supposed to be sealed- kept secret. Somehow someone let it leak.”

Goro ate another bite of food slowly, eyes thoughtful and sharp as he studied Akira. “That is pretty crazy,” he agreed. He wasn’t sure he wanted Akira knowing that he was aware of the metaverse. Not yet at least. If he worked with the Phantom Thieves now, that might draw too much attention. Besides, with the way his palace was he didn’t know if he’d be able to work with them without somehow messing things up. Putting the group in danger. “Do you plan to go back in?”

“You don’t think I’m nuts?” Akira sipped his drink.

“Believe it or not, I’ve heard stranger,” Goro mused. “Do you plan to go back?”

Akira sighed. “In that place there were a ton of prisoners. Prisoners that looked just like a bunch of people from the school. I think the other guy, and I will be heading in there again, tomorrow. I know I need to know just what’s going on.”

“I see.” Goro ate a few more bites of food, staying quiet. Debating just what to say. He wanted to get involved, wanted to help Akira, but he wasn’t sure that was wise. “May I see your phone? I want to see the app for myself.”

“Oh? Sure…” Akira tugged his phone out, passing it to Goro.

Goro tapped the app, checking the history.

 _‘Kamoshida… palace, Shujin Academy. Not sure about joining them, but if we think anything really bad is going down we can always go in to help,’_ Loki suggested. _‘They don’t know our Loki outfit, not yet. There’s no reason we can’t stay out of sight and offer some support. If they had to start from scratch, then we’re a lot stronger than they are right now.’_

True. That was very true.

Goro slid the phone across the table to Akira. “Mind keeping me updated on just what happens? I’m really curious about this. I’d like to learn more.” He offered Akira a smile, “honestly, I’d be tempted to join you tomorrow, but unfortunately I have to work. I’m busy the next couple days, actually.”

“That sucks,” Akira sighed. “Yeah, I’ll keep you updated on what happens,” he assured the other. “Maybe you’ll be able to offer suggestions or something.”

“Mmm…” Goro thought for a moment. “I’d suggest taking some bandages in with you. Or better, a first aid kit. Just in case something goes wrong. It’s a place you’re not familiar with. First aid kits can be lifesavers in any situation.”

“Great idea. I can always stash that in my bag. Though…” he frowned, “I don’t actually have one, and most stores are still closed by the time I’m on the way to school.”

“I see. That’s… not a surprise.” Goro pursed his lips a moment. “Stop by my place on your way to the subway,” he offered. “I have a couple extra first aid kits, you’re welcome to have one.”

“Really? Thanks,” Akira smiled, “I’ll feel safer that way.”

Goro shrugged, “Well, I’d rather not have you get hurt. I’m rather enjoying not eating my meals alone.”

Akira smirked, “Oh? Really?”

Goro leaned over, stealing a bite of Akira’s food. “Really.”

Akira laughed. “Hey, that’s mine.”

Goro smirked and slowly put the food in his mouth. “Mmm… tasty.”

Akira shook his head, cheeks warming as he heard Arsene teasing him. The persona commenting on how it would feel to take the detective prince in his lap and stroke his hair. Arsene wondering how the detective would like being cuffed. Akira’s eyes fell to his own food, unaware that Goro was also getting teased by his persona, too. Both guys so caught up in trying to ignore their persona’s teasing that they didn’t realize the other was blushing. “So you’ve got a lot of work to do the next couple days?”

“I do,” Goro confirmed. “I won’t really have time to do much outside of work and school until the 16th.”

“Well, let’s plan something for then,” Akira smiled. If he remembered right, that was the day he’d gone to Tae’s place to pick up some medicine, last loop. It hadn’t taken long to pick it up. He could do that Wednesday, though. Wednesday was the volleyball rally. He didn’t have anything to do after school that day… that would leave him with the 16th completely free.

“Sure,” Goro lit up at the idea. It would give him something to look forward to. That was pretty rare lately. "I can meet you at Shibuya crossing. We can get lunch, then I’ll show you around town a bit. Since it’s Saturday, you’ll have more time to spend before you have to get back here.”

Akira nodded, “Exactly. So, it’s a date?”

“It is.” Goro confirmed. He checked the time then rose, “I best be going myself. You can text me if anything comes up, alright?”

“Alright.” Akira nodded.

Goro offered Akira a smile then turned, heading downstairs.

_‘Oooh, it’s a date,’_ Loki teased.

 _‘I rather like the sound of that,”_ Robin chuckled at the thought.

Goro moved out of the café, thankful that Akira couldn’t see his bright red cheeks, and even more thankful the other wildcard couldn’t hear his persona.


	8. Waking Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira dives into the palace with Ryuji and Morgana for the second time. Ryuji's persona returns, as do some of his memories.  
> A few of the felines memories are starting to surface as well, though he doesn't know how to handle them.
> 
> Meanwhile, Goro tries to find a way to be useful, without giving away the fact that he's a metaverse user himself.

“Good morning,” Goro greeted Akira with a smile when the other guy dropped by in the early morning. “You look like you’re half asleep,” he teased.

“I am not a morning person,” Akira groaned. “I need more coffee, but I don’t want to be late to class.”

“You remind me of a cat.” Goro passed Akira a pair of first aid kits he had, along with some snack bars.

“A cat?” Akira just blinked sleepily.

“Mmm-hm.”

“… a cat. Really?”

Goro smirked, “Think about it when you’re awake. Now get going- as you said, don’t want to be late for class.”

Akira groaned then turned, cursing early mornings as he headed to the subway, then school. Why did school have to start so early in the day? He wasn’t even awake yet.

Goro sighed once Akira was on his way to school. He hoped the med kits would be enough to help Akira. The other guy had only just woken to his persona. Had only just started fighting again. It would be so easy for Akira and the others to get overwhelmed, when they were so new to the metaverse. Maybe he should-

_‘They managed things last time; they’ll manage it this time.’_ Loki pointed out. _‘He’s a lot stronger than most would think. He managed to do multiple palaces without your help before. He can manage this one.’_

Goro frowned. “Right… they don’t need me.”

_‘That’s not what I meant,”_ Loki sighed. Though he was ignored as Goro tucked his smartphone into his pocket and grabbed his briefcase. The detective prince made his way outside, locking the door securely behind him.

The trip to work was a short one. Goro’s mind on Kamoshida as he tried to think about what could be done there. Last loop, that whole issue had been covered up. The news had touched on it briefly, but it had been forgotten rather swiftly. He didn’t think the Olympic committee had ever been contacted- and they would have provided support for the different people who’d been hurt by that man.

“Good morning.”

Goro blinked, looking up as he heard the familiar voice. “Oh, good morning Niijima-san.” He offered the prosecutor a smile. “How is your latest case coming along?”

“Steadily. I’ll be presenting the case in court this afternoon.” She studied him a moment, “Seems like you have something on your mind.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been hearing some unsettling news,” Goro sighed softly, “news about Shujin academy.”

Niijima frowned. “What have you heard?”

Goro shook his head, “It’s just rumors for now, mind, but I think I’m going to investigate it.” That was right, the woman’s sister when to Shujin. He noted the way she shifted her weight- she was feeling impatient. “There are two issues in particular that I’ve heard about. I heard that the volleyball coach is being abusive to his players. That the team members are always injured in some fashion or another. Being pushed at a pace that's unhealthy. There was even mention of the girls sometimes being called to his office…” Goro grimaced. “I don’t know how accurate that is but one can only imagine what is going on there.”

Niijima pursed her lips. “Indeed. What else?”

“It seems the principle might be blackmailing some students. Making them do something, in exchange for him helping them get into college. Or if they don’t do what he asks, he threatens to make sure they don’t get accepted.” Goro sighed, “I don’t have proof of either yet, but the fact these rumors are spreading at all…”

“The rumors started somewhere.” Niijima shook her head. “Agreed, that does need to be looked into. Tell me if you find anything.”

“I will,” Goro assured her. He offered her a smile then moved to his small office. His briefcase was set on the floor, computer started up. He tugged his phone out, reading over a text from Shido. He replied, then got to work researching Kamoshida.

Maybe he could make things easier for Akira, if he put pressure on that man from another angle.

-=-

After school, Akira and Ryuji had retreated to a pathway not far from the school. Ryuji peaked around then glanced at Akira, his brow furrowed. “So you’re sure this will work? That we’ll be able to get back into the metaverse this way? That’s what you called that nutty place, right?”

“Right.” Akira nodded. “You wanted to check on the students in there. We can do that, but we’ll have to be careful. No rushing off away from me, alright?”

“Alright, alright. Geez…” Ryuji scuffed his shoe against the cement.

“Good.” Akira checked around them to make sure no one would get pulled in on accident, then he hit the app. The world seemed to warp around them before they found themselves in front of the palace once again.

“Alright!” Ryuji grinned then moved up to the front door, trying to jerk it open. “The hell? It’s locked.”

“Well what do you think they’d do? Leave it open when they just had intruders?” Akira sighed, “We can’t go in the front this time.”

“What the shit are we supposed to do then?” Ryuji punched the door. “Come out and face us asshole!” He yelled.

“Be quiet!” Morgana hissed. “Do you want them to grab you and throw them in the dungeon again?” The feline jumped down from an opening and padded over, scowling at them. “Sheesh… you’ll never get anywhere being that loud!”

“Hey, shut it cat,” Ryuji sputtered.

“Ryuji,” Akira frowned at the other teen then sighed, crouching so he was on the feline’s level. “Hey. Glad to see you again.” He reached over, scratching behind the feline’s ears, smirking as Morgana purred. “Remember anything yet?”

Morgana’s eyes fell. “Not really… I don’t even know how I got here.”

“I know.”

“How though? It doesn’t make sense! How do you know?” Morgana huffed, crossing his arms.

Akira chuckled, “A lot of things don’t make sense,” he agreed. “But right now we’ve got work to do, alright? We need to find those prisoners so Ryuji can take a look at them.”

“You mean Skull,” Morgana corrected. He paused, then scowled. “Wait… why did I say that?”

“Skull huh? Duuude, I like it.” Ryuji grinned, “Feels familiar too.”

Akira grinned. So the memories _were_ there, they were just locked away somehow. “Come on, let’s get this going. Once we’re done today we can talk more, alright?”

“Sounds good to me.” Morgana nodded. “I’ll help you two out. Let’s go.” He jumped up onto a crate, then entered through the passage they’d escaped through yesterday.

Together, Akira and Morgana were a solid team. They were able to work together and defeat the different shadows they came across. Akira took time to recruit one of each type of shadow to his team, wanting to have some in backup. He didn’t want to be forced to sacrifice Arsene this time. Arsene was the one that felt truest to his own heart.

In some ways it made him wonder. What was the true Akechi Goro? Robin Hood… or Loki? Did the detective prince even know?

“Dude, they’re not here.” Ryuji scowled as they searched the area they’d passed through yesterday. These particular cells were empty.

“There are other confinement areas,” Akira pointed out. “I bet they were all moved. Let’s keep looking,” he encouraged.

“Right.” Ryuji nodded. The group of three continued onward.

When they finally reached the dungeon, Ryuji was unusually silent. The guy gripping the bars of one cell, staring inside, watching as the guys inside were getting pummeled.

“You’re thinking of the track team,” Akira said softly. “Aren’t you?”

“How did you…?” Ryuji frowned, turning to look at Akira.

“When Kamoshida came, he got your track coach fired. Then he pushed you and the other track team members to the edge. He went further though, dug into your past and spoke bad about your mother. He got you to react… and he broke your leg.”

“That jackass just keeps hurting people, and everyone’s afraid to do anything,” Ryuji spat.

“We’ll do something,” Akira said firmly. “Mona, you, and me. The three of us will do something. We’ll make that guy stop.”

Ryuji sighed, closing his eyes a moment. “… this really has happened before, hasn’t it? There’s no way you’d know all that otherwise, and there’s no way you’re insane. We’re both seeing all this.”

“Come on, we need to get going,” Morgana insisted. “Patrol will be checking this area soon.”

“You can hear him clearly now, can’t you?” Akira smirked at Ryuji.

“Yeah. Yeah I can.” Ryuji punched the wall then turned. “Let’s get out of here. We need to have a good long talk about shit. Gotta figure out what to do next.”

“Finally!” Morgana shook his head then motioned for them to follow. The three of them quickly moving to get out of the palace.

Just like the first time, they were ambushed in the throne room. Though this time Ryuji just glared at Kamoshida. “I’m sick of all your crap!” He walked forward a little, motioning Morgana and Akira back. His outfit changing as he moved, his skull mask appearing. Ryuji sucked in a slow breath then rolled his shoulders. “Ya know, I recognize this feeling. I didn’t even know how much I’d missed this, till now.” He smirked, “Go ahead Kamoshida, throw your worst at us. I’m in the mood to pound something.”

“Why you little!” Kamoshida ordered his guards to attack.

“Captain Kidd, let’s take ‘em out!” Ryuji tore his mask off, feeling the power surge as his persona came into view. Electricity slammed forward, striking four of the guards and throwing them back. A bat appeared in Ryuji’s hands and he swung it hard, breaking the knees of one shadow them slamming the bat against the shadow’s chest. Destroying it.

Akira and Morgana joined the fight. Both of them summoning their persona. More guards surged forward, but the three of them took the enemy out. By the time the fighting was over, Kamoshida was nowhere to be found.

“Damn it!” Ryuji huffed, then groaned, clutching his head a moment. “Damn it damn it damn it… Shiho.” He turned to Akira, his eyes wide. “Is that still going to happen? Can we stop her?”

“Let’s get outside,” Akira insisted.

“But!”

Akira grabbed Ryuji’s arm and tugged the other guy along to the exit. Once the three of them were outside, Akira took a seat on the ground. He grabbed the feline before Mona could get out of reach, tugging the cat into his lap and starting to pet him.

“I don’t know.” He sighed, looking up at Ryuji. “I don’t know if we can stop that from happening or not. I want to, but I don’t know if we can manage it.”

“There’s got to be something we can do.” Ryuji’s shoulders sagged. “Tomorrow I’ll try talking to all of those guys. See if I can get any of them to talk and snitch on Kamoshida. I doubt any of ‘em will but…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Morgana huffed, “I’m not a cat,” he complained, but he didn’t try to fight the petting.

“No, you’re not. You’re a spirit.” Akira chuckled when Morgana gave him a look. “You, Morgana, are a spirit of Hope.” He rubbed under Morgana’s chin, smirking as the feline purred even louder. “You just don’t remember it yet. You will, eventually. Wish I knew how to get you to remember sooner.” He looked from Morgana to Ryuji. “Last time this all happened, you two fought a lot and got on each other’s nerves. In the end though, you were both very valued members of the team. I want to work with both of you. Not just one, or the other. If we’re going to do things right, make things turn out as well as we can… we need the full team on board.”

Morgana frowned then sighed. “Well…”

Ryuji huffed, “Well for now, I’m going to focus on trying to get the others to talk.” He turned, heading out of there.

Akira sighed then set Morgana on the ground. “I’ll try to bring him around. We’ll talk later.” He smiled and ruffled Morgana’s fur, smirking when the feline yowled that he wasn’t a cat. “Later.” He turned, following Ryuji out.

“Dude… that was nuts.” Ryuji sighed, turning and thunking his head against a nearby wall. “Just shit man… all that…” he scowled. “We can’t let him get away with this.”

“I know. We won’t.” Akira assured him.

Ryuji nodded, “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat alright? My treat.” He grinned, elbowing Akira lightly. “How about some ramen? I know a great place.”

“Sure, sounds good to me. I’m starving,” Akira admitted. “Today’s been crazy.”

Ryuji snorted. “No kidding.” He raked his fingers through his hair before turning, the two teens chatting as they made their way to get some food. Akira knew this was only the start, there was so, so much more that needed to be done but… at least it was a start. It was more then he’d had a few days ago.

By the time Akira returned to the café, he was exhausted. Exhausted, but happy. He greeted Sojiro with a smile and headed upstairs to his living area. His bag was left on the counter as he tugged his phone out.

A couple texts from Ryuji. The guy was pumped about tomorrow and determined to talk to some guys. Nothing from Goro though. He frowned, taking a seat on his bed. Should he contact Goro, check on the guy? Or would the other find it annoying. They had just met, and he’d seek Goro that morning… then again, he wanted to make sure Goro knew he had friends.

**Akira:** Evening Goro. Hope you had a good day.

He stared at his phone for a moment, hoping the other would reply. When no reply came through he sighed, setting his phone on the bed and rising. He grabbed one of his schoolbooks and took a seat, getting to work on some homework. He knew what the teachers would assign all year, might as well take time and get it all done ahead of time. He could store finished homework on the shelves, just pass it in as it came due.

His head lifted from his studies when he heard his phone buzz. He grabbed it, lighting up when he saw Goro had responded.

**Goro:** Evening Akira. My day’s been… long. A lot of things to do at work today. I was able to close a couple cold cases, and I’ve started an investigation into Suguru Kamoshida. I believe he’s the volleyball coach at your school. An investigation into Principle Kobayakawa will also be taking place.

An investigation? Akira cocked an eyebrow. Really? That never happened last time.

**Akira:** Sounds intense. Anything I can do to help?

**Goro:** I doubt it. There’s much much more to this whole issue. I’d rather not have you get involved. It’s likely going to be dangerous.

**Akira:** A volleyball coach and a very pumpkin-like principle, dangerous?

**Goro:** … pumpkin like?

**Akira:** Pumpkin-like.

**Goro:** They’re connected to someone bigger. Something bigger. As I said- dangerous. Please don’t get involved. Just pay attention to keeping your grades up and behaving, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Akira snorted.

**Akira:** Mother hen. ****

**Goro:** … perhaps. I just want things to go well for you. You’ve already been through shit, because you were treated unjustly. One slip up could ruin your future at this point. I don’t want to see that happen. Haven’t known you long, but I can tell you’re a good guy.

**Akira:** Thanks. But I’ll only be careful if you are- I don’t want to see you hurt either.

**Goro:** I doubt anyone would even notice if I just vanished. Fans and media are fickle.

**Akira:** I’d notice. I’d notice and look for you.

**Goro:** Why?

**Akira:** Why wouldn’t I?

**Goro:** …

For several minutes, nothing. Then another text from Goro.

**Goro:** As I said… you’re a good guy. I need to get back to work. Goodnight Akira.

**Akira:** Night Goro.

Akira sighed softly, tossing his phone on the bed. Goro thought no one would even notice if he was gone. That no one would look for him. Akira wanted to tell him that he had looked. That after Goro vanished from the metaverse that day Akira had hunted Tokyo for the other teen. Looked everywhere he could. He’d never stopped looking for Goro. Deep down he knew he’d never stop, not until he held Goro in his arms and the other guy realized just how loved he was… and accepted it. It might be a goal Akira never reached, but he would damn well try his hardest.


	9. Calculated Gamble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro is fully aware of the risk he's taking. He knows the odds stacked against him, knows that he could be putting someone in danger with this move. It's a gamble, there are so many ways this could go wrong. But no game is won without some risk, and this is a move no one would expect.

Wednesday, April 13th. 3:32am. The time shown on the phone’s screen as Goro glared at it. 3:32 am. This was earlier than he was normally up. He needed to get some sleep, not be awake and restless at this hour. He sighed, staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes before rising. He shuffled over to the office area of his room and turned the desk lamp on. He turned to the wall, fingers tracing over the map that was hanging there. A map of Tokyo. He had different pins all over the map, color coded to represent different things in a code only he knew, at this point.

He tugged a chair over and climbed onto it, reaching up and carefully removing it from the wall, setting it to the side. His lower lip was chewed as he looked the wall over. Pictures, marks in pencil, string connecting people. Notes posted all over. At the top a circle with a question, a note above that reading, ‘Conspiracy’. Conspiracy. The group that controlled, or tried to control, Tokyo, through use of the metaverse. It wasn’t just Shido. Shido was their face in the end, but he wasn’t the whole of it.

At the top was a circle with a question mark and ‘Igor?’. Beneath that was a string that connected to a picture labeled ‘Masayoshi Shido. Face of conspiracy.’ Multiple other threads connected to Shido. ‘Black Mask’ with a question mark. Junya Kaneshiro, marked as a financier. Ichiryusai Madarame was also marked as a financier. Kunikazu Okumura had the largest amount of notes. Was marked as financier, and ‘potential face if Shido fails, potential rival. Suspected of wanting to break from party. Shido forced man to form palace- blackmailed via threatening to force palace on man’s daughter? Need to confirm. Man’s wife killed by conspiracy, to force man to obey- also need to confirm. Group has multiple employees under Okumura, running company while man is trying to focus on politics- have names of two of those employees, need to confirm others. Shido plans to kill Okumura once company is in Conspiracy’s hands via Okumura’s daughter wedding a member of the Conspiracy.

The connected strings went farther. Principal Kobayakawa. Associate, placed in Shujin academy to gain recruits for conspiracy. Kamoshida, associate. Working with principle, need to confirm purpose. SIU director. Associate. Gained his position via forgery skills. Controls Sae Niijima, forces her to take cases and rig them in favor of Shido- is the one that had Niijima’s palace forced on her. Yakuza cleaner. IT company president. TV station president… and the list went on. Noting a noble, a Politician Ooe, Jun Owada, Konoe, and multiple others just marked with, ‘names not confirmed.’

Goro tugged a notepad of the shelf, grabbing a pen and writing down some notes on things.

**Options:**

Talk to Niijima-san about what is happening at Shujin academy. Reveal that she’s being used.

Potential problem- palace clouds her judgement, makes her unwilling to listen.

Possible solution- take her to her palace. Show it to her. Trigger her memories.

Problem- may not trigger her memories. Or might trigger her memories and she remembers I tried to kill Akira.

Good outcome- she listens to me and is willing to assist against the conspiracy.

Or.

Do not talk to Niijima-san.

Problem- same thing that happened last time, will happen.

Possible solution- deal with her palace on my own. Remove her palace so her thinking is cleared, and so that the Conspiracy can’t use her palace to capture Phantom Thieves.

**Problem:** Shiho’s attempted suicide.

Possible solution- get Olympic committee investigating Shujin before that happens.

Problem- lack of evidence, not enough time.

Possible solution-

Goro frowned at the notes. He remembered investigating Shujin last loop, hearing about that attempted suicide. No one should go through that. He didn’t think there was anything he could do about it though. Unless… hmm… he had an idea but he didn’t know just how it would go. It would cause a scene, and he’d need Niijima-san’s assistance. He didn’t want to get Akira or his friends involved. That would just put a target on their back. If he did it alone, there would be a huge target on his back… but if Niijima-san helped… and he stayed out of sight… yes… that might work.

He covered a yawn then rose from the seat. He put the map back up onto the wall and shuffled back over to his bed, collapsing onto it. He dragged his phone over, staring at it a moment then sending Niijima-san a text.

**Goro:** Niijima-san. You asked me to keep you updated on the case I mentioned yesterday. I have something. I need you to meet me at the courthouse. We can talk there. It’s important, and I fear there may be a life on the line. Please tell me what time you can meet me.

He chewed his lip a moment then hit send. He didn’t know if this was a good idea or not. If it worked, it worked. If not… well, the way things were going he might end up getting another chance. While he had no desire to see this game loop again, the fact that it looped once…

They had to get everything right, or there was a chance it would loop again.

Eyes drifted shut as he took a catnap. Resting for a time before his eyes blinked open at the sound of a buzz. He grabbed his phone- 6:20 am. He’d gotten a little rest at least.

**Sae:** I can be at the courthouse by 7:30.

 **Goro:** I’ll be there.

The phone was dropped as Goro rose, quickly getting ready for the day. He dressed in his typical work outfit and pushed some supplies into his briefcase. Multiple med kits, some snack bars, and a few other things that might come in handy. He left the house quickly, purchasing a light breakfast from a store in the subway before getting on and heading to the courthouse.

Hopefully… hopefully this would work.

Sae Niijima was at the courthouse at 7:30 sharp, just as she said she’d be. A sigh escaped before Goro straightened, moving over to her with a smile. “Thank you for coming so promptly.”

“You made it sound important. Sooner it’s tended to the better. What is it?”

Goro glanced around, then led her around to the side of the courthouse. An area he knew there were no cameras in. “I doubt you’ll believe me unless you see it for yourself. There is a place called the metaverse. It’s a place composed of human cognition, more or less… controlled by it to a point. There is a powerful political group that has been using the metaverse to manipulate society and to control Tokyo.”

“You mean the mental shutdowns.”

Goro nodded. “More then that though. When a person’s heart is corrupted somehow- sometimes by lies, other times by depression. Sometimes bad emotions like wrath, anger, greed. If the corruption becomes bad enough it can form something called a palace. A palace can cloud a person’s emotions, can cloud their thinking to a point.”

“How do you enter these palaces?”

Goro showed her the app, then tapped it. “You need a location- in this case, the courthouse.”

_Location confirmed._

“A what- what the palace, the distortion, appears as. A casino in this case.”

_Distortion confirmed._

“And you need a name.” Goro’s eyes flit to Niijima. “In this case… Sae Niijima.”

“Just what are you-“ Niijima-san’s voice trailed off as she looked up at where the courthouse had been. “But this…? You said this is mine?”

Goro nodded, “It is.” He led her around to the front.

“It’s… huge.” She frowned, studying it a moment then turning to Goro. “Explain,” she ordered.

Goro sighed, then led her to one of the benches. He took a seat, lifting his briefcase and setting it in his lap. Opening it he took out some papers, showing them to her. “These are all cases you’ve dealt with. Information on them, as well as proof that different people had the SIU director assign those cases to you, with a suspect already chosen and in custody, and evidence gathered.”

“I recognize them, yes,” Sae took a seat, looking the paperwork over. “But this…” her eyes narrowed as she looked at an order from the director to an officer- a written order- to switch out evidence on one of the cases.

“Evidence that some of the case evidence has been tampered with,” Goro said softly. “The SIU director only got his position due to how skilled he is in forgery. He faked many of his own documents, and has faked a lot of evidence.”

Sae gave him a sharp look. “So many of these cases. They’re rigged.”

“Correct.”

She looked the papers over again, her jaw clenching. “So he’s been using me.”

“He has,” Goro confirmed. “This palace? There’s a version of you inside. One that has been twisted, and is obsessed with winning. Enough so that she cheats in the casino, to make certain the house always wins. I believe she’s become like that, because of how the SIU director has been using you.”

“… you’re right. I…” Sae leaned forward, clutching her head. “Why are you showing me all this? The SIU director. He works for Shido, doesn’t he? But… you do too.”

“So this did trigger your memories,” Goro marveled. “I wonder if its just in coming here, or in the fact you’ve been here before… even if your time here before was brief and not obvious...” it was hard to know. Or was it the fact that everything was so different this time? He watched as the woman rose and paced.

“You used my palace to capture the leader of the Phantom Thieves.” Her voice hardened as she paused, staring away from him. “You led officers- corrupt officers- into this place and captured him. They beat him, used interrogation drugs to an extent that isn’t even legal… then you shot him.”

“Shot a cognition of him, as I later learned, yes,” Goro confirmed.

“So why are you showing me this now?” Sae turned, eyes boring into Goro as she looked at him.

“… I don’t want to repeat the past.” Akechi sighed softly, looking up at the casino. “Because you dealt with your own shadow last time, I doubt it would be hard for you to deal with it again. We could make this disappear. Make it so your palace couldn’t be used to capture the Phantom Thieves.” He looked over at her. “Tell me. What’s it feel like? Having a palace? Now that you know it’s here, I bet you can identify what sensations are linked to it.”

Sae frowned, considering that. “Anger. Anger, weariness, fear. Fear of failing. Fear of losing everything. It’s… it’s heavy. Like I’m carrying a bag loaded with things.” She rested a hand on her hip, eyes falling to the ground. “It feels like I’m trying to open my eyes but they’re so heavy… I can’t.”

“Exactly.” Goro’s eyes fell as he tried to think what to say next. Step one was done, but how to proceed? Usually he had things planned out to the last detail, with multiple other plans in place. This time though, he’d acted on impulse. It was unlike him. A risky move.

 _‘Sometimes risk is needed. I like risk- it makes things less predictable for the enemy.’_ Loki purred.

“…” Sae moved to Goro. “Look at me,” her voice was firm.

Goro grimaced, eyes locked on the ground.

“Akechi Goro, look at me,” Sae repeated.

Goro sighed, eyes rising to meet hers.

“You called me here for a reason. I doubt this is the only one. You just said exactly. Like you know what this feels like. Do you have a palace of your own?”

Goro started to look away, wincing a little as Sae leaned forward, resting a hand on the bench and making him look at her again. “You should be an interrogator yourself,” he huffed. “Yes. I have a palace of my own. But unlike yours… no one’s ever made it to the end. Made it vanish… and I don’t know how to do it.” He licked his lips as she backed off a little. Her eyes had softened some, an understanding in them.

“You said a life is on the line. Who’s?”

“Not yours,” Goro assured her. “A girl at Shujin academy. One of the star volleyball players. Last loop… she tried to commit suicide on April 15th.”

“Two days from now.”

“Yes.”

“And showing this to me will help her… how?”

“Well… I might have an idea, but I need your help for it.” Goro sighed, “You see…”

-=-

At Shujin academy, the day was going just as Akira remembered it had gone last time. Once again, no one was willing to talk about anything. People were spreading rumors about him, whispering about him when they thought he wasn’t looking. Telling each other to not look at him because he ‘might snap’ or something to that effect.

Why did they have to fall to those rumors so easily? Why did they think he was such a creep? It was hard to deal with. Hard to accept.

When school ended for the day, Akira walked outside with Ryuji. “I told you it wouldn’t help. It didn’t do a thing last time.”

“I know! I know it damn it. I know…” Ryuji gripped his hair a moment then scowled. “Damn it, I’m still going to try again though. Later, alright?” He turned and moved to try and talk to another kid he recognized.

Akira shook his head and made his way back to Yongen-Jaya. He knew it wouldn’t work. It didn’t work last time and as far as he knew, it wouldn’t work this time either. There had to be something else he could do. He wished he could blast through Kamoshida’s palace before Friday, but he knew there wasn’t a chance at that. They didn’t have a full team yet, and they didn’t have the strength they needed to defeat the shadows deeper in, without really getting hurt.

He valued his team, and didn’t want to push them past their limits.

He stopped by LeBlanc, leaving his school books upstairs before making his way to the clinic.

Things went about the same as they had last loop, with the doctor wanting to test a medicine on him. He agreed to it wholeheartedly, knowing that her medicine would save his team many times to come. He firmly believed she was one of the best doctors in Tokyo, she just didn’t give herself much credit.

Like how Goro never seemed to give himself much credit for the good stuff he did.

He was bone tired by the time he got back to LeBlanc. It was still rather early, but he just didn’t have the energy to do much else today. He sent Goro a message then lay down, grabbing a book and starting to read.

-=-

“I am thou, thou art I,” a feminine voice boomed in Sae Niijima’s mind as she gripped the mask on her face. “I am the moral reverence for law. The keeper of balance. The balance has been tipped out of favor and the unjust have gone free as the innocent suffer. It’s time to take up the sword and restore balance where it’s been lost. Speak my name, you know it!”

Sae cried out, gripping the mask that had covered her face. The mask was red, looking like a pair of wings that flared out from just above her nose. She pulled it off with a gasp, “Nemesis!”

The persona took form beside of her, large wings flaring out, a sword gripped in one hand a lash coiled and held in the other.

Sae panted, drawing her sword and pointing it at her shadow. “We are one,” she said firmly. “This has gone too far. No more.” She straightened, but instead of attacking her shadow she sheathed her blade and stepped forward. “You and I are one,” she repeated. “You are the shadow to my light. I understand this. I don’t want to fight you- I accept you and acknowledge my faults. I need to work to correct things, to make things better, but for that I need the blinders taken off my eyes.” She held her hand out. “Return to me, so I can again be whole.”

Her shadow studied her a moment then nodded slowly. It moved forward, seeming to shimmer a moment before sinking into Nemesis, vanishing into the persona.

Sae groaned, sinking to one knee, panting hard.

“Are you alright?” Goro hurried to her side, giving her a hand up. “I told you this would be intense. We’ve been in here all day now. Come on, we need to get out of here.” He tugged out a goho-m and used it, transporting the two of them to the entrance.

Once outside Goro moved to a bench with Sae, taking a seat with a groan. “That… was a lot more intense than I expected. But I’d planned to do it over two days, not all at once.”

“It needed to be done.” Sae shook her head, “I feel like I couldn’t walk for long if I tried to.”

“I’ll call a taxi for us,” Goro tugged his phone out, hesitating then texting Maruki, asking the man to pick him up. “I’ll cover the cost,” he assured Sae. “We’ll get you home first. I want to make sure you get there alright.”

“Thanks.” Sae’s eyes closed, a soft sigh escaping. “I want to confront my sister about all this,” she admitted. “But she hasn’t…”

“Not here,” Goro said softly. “And no, not yet. She won’t for a few more months, unless the group changes things up. For now, please don’t talk about this to others? We need to make sure our plan works, first. After that, I’m sure a few people will know but, hopefully, not many.”

“We’ll have to be very careful,” Sae agreed.

“Mmm… I know. But if our plan works…”

The two were silent until the taxi came. They climbed in, Goro checking his messages once in the taxi. He smiled at the message from Akira, just sending a brief apology for taking so long to respond, then letting the other know he’d text more tomorrow. Tonight he was beat.

When Sae was dropped off at her house the woman paused then gave Goro’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks.” A brief smile was offered before she got out of the taxi, heading inside.

Goro relaxed, telling Maruki where to take him, his shoulders relaxing for the first time all day.

Looked like the game could be changed up some, after all.


	10. Causing a Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thursday blues hit when Akira realizes nothing seems to be working. No matter what he tries, he doesn't have time to change things before she hurts herself.  
> When Friday comes, Goro steps forward with a plan of his own, a blind swing in hopes of changing things for the better.

Akira was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do. Today was Thursday, April 14th. If things went the same as they did last loop, Shiho would try to kill herself tomorrow. He desperately wanted to stop that from happening, but so far things seemed to just be repeating the same as they had last loop. He tried taking time to speak to Shiho, but their conversation was quickly interrupted by Kamoshida.

Why did it feel like someone was manipulating the world? Was that stupid holy grail being petty about losing last time, and making sure he had to watch Shiho get hurt again? It felt like no matter what he said or how he acted, the pattern of events that had happened last loop was just going to repeat itself this time. These thoughts were only echoed when he spoke to Ann after school. Following her in the subway, convincing her to go to the diner. He made his heart ache, seeing her in so much distress. Knowing what she’d been going through, what more she’d go through. Why did all the heartache and pain have to repeat? Problems he’d found solutions to last time only coming back? It had hurt to see the other people hurting last time, but this time… this time when they were distant, not yet the close friends he’d come to know. It was worse. Far worse.

“Things will improve Ann,” he’d assured her. “That’s a promise.”

His classmate had wiped her eyes, a sniffle escaping. “How can you be so sure of that?” Her voice had cracked as she glared down at her phone. Reading a message from Kamoshida. “He’s been doing this so long… who’s going to stop him, now? We’re just students. What can we do?”

Akira offered her a smile, “You’re right, we are just students. But because we’re just students no one expects us to do anything- and that’s the very reason we can.” He sighed, then gave her his number. “In case you ever need to talk, alright?”

They’d parted. Akira’s heart heavy as he made his way back to the café. He listened silently as Sojiro scolded him for being back so late. Quietly acknowledged the man then made his way upstairs. He sank onto his bed, checking his phone. A couple texts from Ryuji that he replied to. A text from Ann, thanking him for talking today. Nothing from the detective prince though. He sighed, staring at the phone. He wanted to say something, anything. Get Goro to start talking to him. He wanted to get to know Goro better, learn more about the guy, just spend more time with him. With how things were staying the same so far, he was afraid he’d lose Goro again. Just like he had last loop.

His phone buzzed, a message from Goro popping up.

**Goro:** Sorry about texting so late. How are you doing?

 **Akira:** Doing well. Was about to text you. How are you?

 **Goro:** Tired. Ever had a puzzle or problem you just can’t figure out? That’s how it is with cases sometimes. It can be exhausting, but at the same time make it near impossible to sleep.

 **Akira:** How many coffee have you had today?

 **Goro:** I’m not certain the black sludge at the police station counts as coffee.

 **Akira:** That might be part of the reason you’re not sleeping.

 **Goro:** I only had three cups today, and I’ve not been to LeBlanc. So I’ve had less than usual.

 **Akira:** Only three?

 **Goro:** You drink more then that to get yourself moving in the morning.

 **Akira:** Yeah, but that’s in the morning.

 **Goro:** Three am is technically morning.

 **Akira:** Please tell me that’s when you woke up this morning, not when you went to bed.

 **Goro:** …

 **Akira:** Did you sleep at all last night?

 **Goro:** … I’m going to go get some sleep now. Goodnight.

 **Akira:** Not answering the question is as good as saying you got none!

 **Goro:** Mmm… but it’s still not an admission.

 **Akira:** Here you are fussing at me about being careful, and you’re not taking care of yourself. I know your works important, but if you skip too much sleep or get sick, what then? It’s better to take it a little slower and get some rest, then it is to get sick. Isn’t it?

 **Goro:** And you called me the mother hen.

 **Akira:** Go get some sleep.

 **Goro:** Yes mother.

Akira rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he set his phone to the side.

-=-

All Friday morning was tense. Akira’s eyes kept flitting to the courtyard, dreading what he thought was coming today. Shiho… he hadn’t been able to talk to her. Hadn’t been able to help her. Ryuji had tried too, but the girl was just so badly hurting that she wouldn’t open up to them. It felt like a failure. Like there was some bomb he couldn’t quite reach, and the seconds on the timer were just counting down.

If he left class now and headed to the roof, would he be able to get to her? Talk her out of jumping? Or was it already too late? Had she already made it to the roof? If he left class now he’d just be getting in trouble. Still, he needed to…

“Look, someone’s going to jump!” There was an audible gasp from different students as people started to stand, everyone rushing to go look and see who it was. Ann rose, her eyes widening. “Shiho!”

“Everyone get back in your seats,” the teacher sputtered.

Ann pushed past the different students, fighting her way through. Akira swallowed hard and followed, just saying a silent prayer that Shiho would survive this.

Up on the roof, Shiho swallowed hard as she looked down at the ground far below. Her heart was pounding in her ears. “Ann… I’m sorry. I can’t… can’t go on,” she rasped. She closed her eyes, fully intending to let herself fall forward but someone grabbed her shirt, pulled her back.

“Don’t do this. You don’t want to kill yourself.” The woman’s voice was firm.

“Just let me go,” Shiho’s voice quivered. “I can’t-“ a sob caught in her throat.

“Akechi,” the woman’s voice was strained, “If you’re doing to do it do it now, I don’t know how long I can keep her from jumping.”

“Brace yourself,” Goro warned. Reality warped around them as Goro hit the app button, entering the metaverse.

“You’re sure this will only take a few minutes?” Sae frowned as she scanned the area they’d landed in. They were in some giant room, a ballroom of some sort. Standing on a balcony overlooking the area. For now, the ballroom was empty.

“What is this place?” Shiho whispered, her eyes wide as she looked around.

“It’s called a palace.” Goro frowned, scanning the area. “And it will only take a few minutes in reality.” At least, he thought it would. “Time seems to run differently here, then in the real world. I’ve found a way to track it… to a point at least.”

“Then we need to get moving and get out of here. So we can appear back on the roof, or at the school entrance. I’m sure we made a scene.” Sae frowned then turned to Shiho, checking on her. “We’re going to get you out of here, so stay close.” She helped the girl stand. “Once we’re out of here, I’m taking you to the hospital. You’re wounded and hurting. You need to get proper care.”

“Why didn’t you just let me die?” Shiho whispered. “He’ll just hurt me again.”

“We won’t let him,” Goro said firmly. “I’m in contact with the Olympic committee, they’ll be brought in. We’re launching a full investigation into the bastard.”

“It’ll be hard to convict him unless we get testimonies from people he’s hurt,” Sae added.

Shiho frowned, her eyes falling.

“Look,” Goro moved in front of her, tugging his mask off so she could see his face. Loki appeared behind him, the persona scanning the area warily. “Shiho, right? I know how it feels. Feeling like you have no one to help you. To be beaten down, hurting, not seeing any way to keep moving forward. I know what it’s like, just wanting to die and escape it all. Sometimes feels like death would be a mercy. We keep pushing forward though. You have friends. That other girl, Ann. She’d be devastated if you were gone. The others on the volleyball team would miss you too.”

“I used to love volleyball,” Shiho frowned. “Now it’s just… just torment.”

“Volleyball isn’t the problem, that coach is,” Akechi said firmly. “We will stop him, but we’re going to need help.”

“It’s going to be hard, when people find out what happened,” Sae said, “But this doesn’t have to be the end of your dreams. You can use this, to move forward. To help others.”

“Help others…” Shiho frowned, falling silent as the three of them moved down from the balcony to the main floor. Heading towards the doors that led out.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” The shadow Kamoshida sneered, entering the room with a dozen guards. “Intruders, in here? You’ll pay for that,” he spat.

Shiho’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “K-kamoshida!”

“No.” Goro stepped forward. “This is just a shadow. A version of him. A pathetic version of him. He isn’t aware of anything that happens here, I promise you that. Sae, stay with Shiho. I’ll deal with these bastards.” He drew his blade, then lunged forward in attack. Engaging the shadows.

One shadow swung at him, but Goro ducked the blow. A snicker escaping as that shadow’s sword hit one of the other shadows. The two shadows started fighting each other. His blade swept the head off one shadow, then cut through another.

More shadows surged forward, trying to circle Akechi and get at Sae and Shiho.

“Sigyn!” The persona appeared behind him, motioning with her hands. Making stones come up from the ground, blocking off the way around Goro- and blocking the exit so that the shadows would have more trouble coming in.

Shiho swallowed hard as she watched the young man fighting. She frowned, eyes moving to the woman beside of her. “Who… who are you two?”

“I’m Niijima. My younger sister goes to your school,” Sae glanced at her. “Best not to speak about this to anyone,” she warned. “Most people aren’t aware of it. They’d think you’re mad.”

“It feels mad,” Shiho admitted. She was quiet a moment as she saw the guy attack using Loki. “He has so much… much rage.” She looked at Sae again, “Did someone hurt him, too?”

“I don’t know. I’ve worked with him for over a year now but… he’s never shared much of his personal life with me.” Sae shook her head.

The stone barricade slowly vanished as the Kamoshida shadow was the last one standing. The haughty king scowled, glaring at them. “You’ve no right to disrespect me in my own palace!”

“Your palace?” Goro sneered, moving forward. He shoved the man back, watching as the shadow stumbled to the floor. His gun was pulled out and aimed at the shadow’s forehead. “This is a _school._ A place where people come to learn. Not a place where you get to play pretend and feed your inflated ego.”

“Goro, don’t,” Sae frowned as she watched.

“Why not?! This bastard has used people, beaten and hurt them. Molested people. Blackmailed them. If he’s not stopped now, how many more will he hurt? And don’t say it’s ‘not legal’, I don’t give a shit. Scum like him only ever cause pain.”

“… he can’t admit his wrongs, if he’s dead,” Shiho said softly. “I want to see him in jail. See him pay for what he’s done. If he’s dead, there wouldn’t be an investigation… would there? He’d be seen as a victim.”

Goro tsked his tongue then huffed, firing a shot, the bullet striking the floor beside the shadow, making it jump.

The shadow swore and turned, scrambling to its feet and fleeing.

“… security likely spiked from that. We need to keep moving.” Goro holstered his gun then moved out of the room. “Found a safe room,” he called. “Come on, we can exit through here.”

Shiho and Sae followed him to the safe room, the three of them taking a seat inside and resting for a moment. Goro couldn’t stay seated for long though. Soon he was up and pacing, feeling restless, needing to vent somehow. Shiho’s eyes followed him as he paced, brows furrowing as she watched him. He stopped after a moment, staring at the door. “I know you’re staring at me. What is it?”

“Who hurt you?” She hugged herself absently as he stiffened. “The way you reacted to Kamoshida, it’s like you took his crimes personally. But you don’t go to Shujin. So… so someone else hurt you, like he’s been doing to me. Right?”

Goro grimaced. “If you’re thinking of trying to help me, don’t bother wasting your time. I’ve already dug my own grave in a way. You just need to focus on recovering.” He sighed when he saw Sae give him a look. “Sorry. Look, you don’t want to know my past. It’s… it’s a mess. A royal mess. My mother committed suicide-“ he frowned. “Or I thought it was suicide. I… don’t know anymore. More I learn, more I think she had a mental shutdown. I’ve no way to know for certain at this point. But simply- my mother is dead, my father won’t acknowledge me. So I’m a foster kid. Lived with families off and on, institutions when I wasn’t with a family. Right now I’ve got a jerk that collects almost two-thirds of my income for himself, in exchange for claiming he’s taking care of me and letting me live wherever I want. So on my own, basically. Oh, and I’m left handed, if the rest wasn’t enough.

In the foster care system, shit happens… and no one sees the kids as anything more than property. Or that’s how it feels. There are a few good families but... they don't have the financial support they need, to support many kids. It’s a full time job, just surviving.” He looked at her, “from what I know… your parents really love you. You’re lucky that way. If they knew what Kamoshida has done to you, they’d be on your side, not his. You have their support, and you’ll have other people’s support as well.” He shook his head. “Seems like I’m giving a lecture… sorry. Just… take a chance and trust your parents, and your friends. If they know the truth, they’ll help you. I know you wanted to give up- just remember that you do have people that will support you. You just need to give them a chance.”

“Don’t you have people to support you?” Shiho asked.

Goro smiled ruefully. “I don’t know. Until recently… not really. I know I can count on Niijima-san though. There’s one other person but I…” He frowned, then looked away. “After the shit I’ve done? I don’t deserve their help.” He sighed, “Come on. We should be going.” He offered Shiho his hand. “Take Niijima-san’s hand as well. I’m going to use an item to take us out of here. We’ll find ourselves back on the roof. Niijima-san is going to take you to the hospital and will stay with you until your parents get there.”

Shiho hesitated, then took his hand.

Goro waited until Niijima had Shiho’s other hand. He tugged out a goho-m and used it, then tapped the app.

A sob escaped Shiho as she found herself back on the roof. She leaned against Sae, her body trembling as she thought about how close she had just come. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Sae lifted her and turned, heading towards the door that would lead downstairs. When a pair of teachers burst through the doors she glared at them. “Move. I’m taking this girl to the hospital.”

“But!” One teacher started to protest.

“Listen to her,” Goro moved over, offering the teacher’s a smile. “I don’t think you want a huge scandal on your hands now do you?” He hummed, “Having her take the girl to the hospital will cause much less unrest then an ambulance, wouldn’t you say? Now, I want one of you- or both- to go fetch Kamoshida for me. Have him meet me inside the entrance to the school.”

“Why would you want-“ the teacher swallowed when Goro’s eyes narrowed. “Of course.” The man turned, fleeing.

Goro rolled his eyes and headed downstairs. He passed by Akira and Ryuji, noticing them but not giving them a second glance. He heard them say something but ignored it. When he got to the entryway he saw Ann asking Sae to go with her. The woman glanced at Goro then nodded, taking Ann to the hospital with Shiho.

“What’s going on?” Kamoshida moved into the entryway, scowling. “What are you doing causing a scene?” He glared at someone behind Goro.

Goro glanced back, spotting Akira and Ryuji there. _Stay out of this you idiots…_ “They haven’t done anything. I asked for you to come down here.” Akechi stepped forward, getting between the volleyball coach and the students. He looked up at the man, meeting his gaze. “One of the students just tried to commit suicide because of you.”

“I had nothing to do with it. It’s not my fault she’s mentally unstable,” Kamoshida scoffed.

Akechi stepped a bit closer, smiling as he looked at the man. “On the contrary, you had everything to do with it. She has many wounds that were caused because of you. She’s not the only one that will testify against you either. Your records are being looked at, everything you’ve ever done will be uncovered. A full blown investigation. You might see yourself as a king but your nothing but a washed up ex-athlete who is desperate for attention.”

“Why you!” Kamoshida’s hands curled in fists.

“Go ahead. Hit me. I dare you.” Akechi’s smile grew into a full smirk as he leaned even closer, making the taller adult take a step back. “Let me remind you that I am a detective. If you lay a hand on me I can arrest you for assaulting an officer. If you fight arrest, that’s another charge against you. You can’t have me expelled- I don’t go to this school. If you try to expel anyone I will have that investigated and reversed- and that would give the school a _very_ bad name. Losing you any credibility with the principle here.”

“You’re just a kid,” Kamoshida sputtered.

Goro’s eyes narrowed, “And you’re a worm. A worm that tries to make itself seem impressive by showing off. That tries to feel power by beating up those that can’t fight back.” He stepped to the side as Kamoshida tried to go around him, blocking the man’s escape. “You know what I’ll do, once I have the evidence? I’ll drag you to prison and make sure all the inmates are aware that you abused and molested students.”

“But that would be a lie,” Kamoshida insisted, blanching.

“That’s what you claim, I’ll find out if its true or not though. If it’s true, I’d watch your back. People like you are the ones that prisoners hate the most- even with the crimes they’ve done, they love their own kids. So knowing there’s someone that might have hurt a child, in their midst?” Goro tsked his tongue, “I’d hate to be in your shoes.” He stepped back, giving Kamoshida room to move. “The Olympic committee has been called and will be launching a full investigation. If you just confess, things might go better for you.” He turned, “But somehow I don’t see you as smart enough to do that.” He shot a glare at Kamoshida then headed outside, taking his phone out and calling the Olympic committee on his way down the stairs.

Kamoshida stared after the retreating detective then turned with a snarl. He punched the wall before stalking up the stairs, heading to his office.

“Dude…” Ryuji shook his head slowly. “That was messed up.

Akira hummed. “Even if there’s an investigation it’ll be slow, and without his confession hard to get a conviction.”

Ryuji pursed his lips. “Yeah, well we’ll just have to get him confess. We going in today?”

“Yeah. We are. Ann reclaims her persona today- I’m not about to miss that.”

“Mmm…” Ryuji rocked back on his heels. “Hell no, not about to miss that.”

“Everyone back to your classrooms!” A teacher yelled. Trying to herd the students out of the hallways.

While things had certainly been blown off track compared to how things had gone the first loop, the rest of the day went about the same as before. Akira, Ryuji and Morgana went into the palace, Ann followed… this time they got caught as a group and dragged into that other room, instead of Ann trying to go in on her own. Once again Ann woke her persona.

… and once again Morgana seemed to have a crush. Honestly, Akira found that adorable. Morgana seemed to get crushes very easily.

Once they left the metaverse, Akira sighed. “Alright. Let’s take tomorrow and Sunday to prepare. We need to get healing supplies- I’ll take care of weapons and armor. I already know a good place. Monday we’ll make our first official trip in. Maybe Monday evening we can all hang out at LeBlanc’s, catch up on things? I bet a run in the metaverse together will help bring some more of your memories forward.”

“I sure hope so,” Ann sighed, “I’ve got a pounding headache.”

“We’ll do this,” Ryuji said firmly. “For everyone that’s had Kamoshida hurt them.”

“Right,” Akira and Ann chorused.

“For Shiho,” Ann added softly.

Akira set Morgana into his bag, then headed home.

**Akira:** Goro, that was awesome!

 **Goro:** … excuse me?

 **Akira:** I saw the way you confronted Kamoshida. Since I’ve been at this school, that guy has just been doing one thing after another. He’s the one that leaked my records- he forced one of his players to do it.

 **Goro:** That doesn’t surprise me. I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t hit me. I wanted to arrest him right there, but there’s not enough evidence yet. I really pushed him too. He has more self-control then I thought he would.

 **Akira:** I’m glad that he didn’t hit you.

 **Goro:** So we still on for tomorrow? And what time does Sojiro want you back by? I know he has you on a curfew still.

 **Akira:** Not sure what time curfew actually is. I’ll have to check. Yes, we’re still on for tomorrow.

 **Goro:** Great. I’ve got a few things we can do. I’m looking forward to it.

 **Akira:** Me too.


	11. First Not-date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro and Akira spend a peaceful Saturday afternoon together on their first 'not' date.
> 
> Morgana: "They went on a date."

Goro stood near the lottery booth in Shibuya, glancing at his watch then scanning the area. Trying to spot Akira in the crowd. Maybe he should have chosen a more specific place to meet. With all the moving bodies, it could be hard to use area as a place to meet up.

His searching eyes were rewarded when he spotted the frizzy hair weaving between people and making its way in his direction. “There you are,” he offered the other teen a smile. He watched as a cat jumped out of the other teen’s bag. So, Akira had teamed up with the feline now? A good thing. It meant Akira was getting his team together again. He heard the feline comment that he’d meet Akira back home, but ignored it. Pretending that he hadn’t just heard a cat speak.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” Akira grinned as he saw Goro. “So, where are we headed?”

“Well, there’s a small diner here in Shibuya. I thought that would be a good first stop.” He turned, leading Akira into the shopping hub. “Not sure if you’ve been in this area yet, but the dvd shop is running a campaign right now. If you purchase a membership you can rent dvds as much as you want, all year. No worry about returning it late, or having to pay each time you get a dvd.”

“Really? I’ll have to check it out.” Akira glanced at the store. He remembered returning things late many times, usually the owner just forgave the late fee but still… it had put him on edge each time. Eventually he’d just given up on trying to rent videos, not wanting to risk the late fee.

Goro nodded, “there is an airsoft shop down one of these side streets. It’s a fun stop to make sometimes. The man there makes fantastic models.”

“Do you collect models?”

“Ah, well,” Goro chuckled, “when I was young, my mother and I would sometimes have a movie marathon. Star Wars is the one we watched most often. I have several lightsaber models I’ve collected through the years, as well as different gun models to mimic the ones in those movies.”

“I’d love to see your collection sometime.”

“Really?” Goro’s eyes lit up at the thought. “Most people find it childish.”

“I’ve seen some adults collect things that could be called a lot more childish then StarWars,” Akira snorted. Some adults were five year olds trapped in middle aged bodies. Complete with temper tantrums and pouting. Or the adoring ‘fans’ that swarmed different celebrities.

“That is true,” Goro agreed. He led Akira into the diner, picking a table in the back corner and sitting with his back to the wall. He scanned the room, satisfied that he could see everything from here. “Some people collect the oddest things. For example, I know some people have keychains with pictures of me on them.” He made a face, “Not something I’m particularly happy about, but the head of the tv station thinks it’s great.” He sighed softly, “Sometimes I wish I’d avoided the publicity. It can make work a lot more complicated at times.”

“I’m sure.” Akira glanced at the menu, debating on what to get. “So… just what happened yesterday? I saw that girl about to jump, then next thing I know someone is carrying her out, and you’re ripping into Kamoshida.”

“Niijima-san was able to talk the girl out of jumping. We spoke on the roof and she told some of what’s happened to her. Her testimony is more than enough to open a full investigation.” Goro set his menu down, “so far there are a few charges that we can make against the man, but there’s not enough yet. More evidence is needed. Testimonies, or the man’s confession. Either would work. The Olympic committee will be handing that, though. Most of the investigation is being handed over to them.” He smiled ruefully, “They still see me as a kid, and think they can do a better job. If I come up with anything they’ll check up on it, but they want me to stay back.”

“Must be tough. You’ve proven you can handle the work, but you’re still pushed around by the adults.”

“Mmm… I doubt that will ever change. Until I’m older, and have proven myself multiple times.” Goro shrugged, “It’s just how it is. They don’t like to think that someone younger and less experienced, is better.”

“I can understand that,” Akira admitted. “But at the same time, bet they’re shooting themselves in the foot sometimes, when they don’t let you do what you’re good at.”

Goro chuckled. “I completely agree.” He greeted the waitress when she came, ordering the steak and asparagus, along with a fruit tea. Akira got the same. “So, have you had a chance to explore what that app does, more? The… what did you call it?”

“Metaverse app.” Akira tugged his phone out. “I’m still figuring it out.” Even after using it for a year, it felt like he never ran out of questions about the fool thing. “It’s crazy. The school turns into a palace. It’s far larger on the inside then it is on the outside. There are some pretty crazy obstacles that we’ve run into.” He looked at the app a moment, then tucked his phone away. “Not a fan of the king of the palace.” He shook his head. “The guy is so full of himself.”

“Just like the real man, hmm?”

“Just a lot more blunt. He’s not trying to put on a good face or trying to make people think he’s a good guy. It’s the raw desires and creepiness.” Akira sighed.

“Too bad I can’t interview him,” Goro sighed. “Though that interview would never hold in a court of law.”

“It is too bad.” Akira sipped his drink once it came.

“What do you think makes a palace appear, in the first place?” Goro crossed his legs, leaning back in his seat as he watched Akira thoughtfully.

“It’s hard to say.” Akira thought a moment. “It’s something distorted. An emotion, desire, or maybe even a lie. There is something at the root of it. I don’t really know but… from what little I’ve seen so far, anything could cause one.”

“Anything?”

“Well, anything extreme. Like…” Akira paused, trying to think. “If someone had a horrible loss, and refused to accept it. That might cause a palace. In their heart, they fool themselves into thinking the person they lost is still with them. In their palace, that person is still there. But in reality…”

“So in that case, the palace was formed as a lie. Perhaps even as a way to protect the person,” Goro mused. “But if that palace was to protect the person, would you still go into it and try to do… whatever it is you’re trying to do?” He knew what they did, but he couldn’t let Akira know that. Not yet. Or could he? Could he tell Akira what he remembered? How would that change things? Would it trigger the other’s memories? So far, it still seemed like the other wasn’t remembering things.

Then again, if Akira did remember things… he doubted the guy would want to continue spending time with him. What if the others remembered as well? He’d have to stop going to LeBlanc. He doubted the owner would want him inside the café, if he remembered what happened. Even with how gruff he could be, it wasn’t hard to see that Sojiro was a coffee dad. He took care of the younger people around him.

It was why he’d always found LeBlanc so comfortable. He felt safe there. It was one of the few places in Tokyo where he could really just let his guard down and relax.

“It depends. If they were hurting other people, or themselves, because of how twisted they’d become then yes, it would be best to help them. I’d want to try something in this world first. Try to see if I could get them to accept reality without actually having to do more. If they weren’t hurting anyone with it…” Akira shrugged. “If they asked me to help, I’d want to help. If they didn’t ask, and they weren’t hurting anyone, then it wouldn’t feel right to me.”

Goro watched as their food was set down. He nodded to the waitress then took a bite of food, chewing thoughtfully. “What if someone had a palace forced on them somehow? How would you help them?”

“Forced on them? Well,” Akira’s brow furrowed as he thought. “I don’t know.” That reminded him of Futaba. Did she already have the café hacked into? Most likely. Maybe he could talk to her, try to remind her of things. It was impossible to say if she’d remember things or not.

“I’d want to try and help them, somehow. Then again…”

“You have a soft heart and want to help everyone,” Goro teased.

Akira nodded. “I know it’s not always possible but I want to do what I can. People deserve a chance. Being manipulated because someone forced something on you, like that? It’s not right. It puts the person in a lot of danger, too. I don’t even know why I can go to that place, but if I can go who’s to say there aren’t others who can go, as well? Not everyone wants to help other people, either. This app… there’s a lot of good that can be done with it, but there’s also a lot of bad that can happen because of it. It… it’s not just something to be used casually. It’s a responsibility, I think.”

“A tool that can be used for good, or evil. Something not many have, but some do.” Goro sighed, “Hopefully it’s not something a lot of people get.”

“Agreed.” Akira continued eating. “Enough talking about that though. I want to know more about you.” He offered Goro a smile, “What are some things you like to do?”

“Well, I like to go bouldering. I do a fair bit of cycling as well. Other then that, I’m usually working…” Goro shrugged. “I enjoy a game of chess, or finding time to go listen to jazz. A good book is always welcomed when I have the time to read.”

“Are there good places to listen to jazz, around here?”

“Not in Shibuya. There’s another area, north of here. There’s a place that has darts and billards- both things I enjoy- then just a step from that is a club downstairs, where they serve good drinks and play some nice music.”

“Maybe we can go there next time?”

“Oh? Next time?”

Akira grinned, “Of course. I want to make this a regular thing.”

“I’m sure you’ll find plenty of other friends. You have a charm about you that just attracts people to you,” Goro shook his head.

“Are you attracted to me?” Akira smirked, leaning forward a little.

Goro’s cheeks warmed at the question. “Whatever makes you think that?” So what if he was? Akira would want nothing to do with him once he remembered. Once he remembered they were rivals, not….

Not what?

Not friends… lovers?

He could dream.

Akira’s grin just seemed to grow. “You _do_ find me attractive.”

“You’re an imp, and fine to spend time with.” Goro finished his lunch. “I will say it’s impossible to be bored around you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“And you’re an insufferable flirt.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“From you?” Akira nudged Goro’s foot with his own. “Yeah, it was.”

Goro paid for their meal then rose. “What time is your curfew again?”

“I’ve got a few hours,” Akira assured him.

“Well, there’s a movie on this afternoon. If we head over to the theater now we can catch it. Or we can walk to the park from here…” Goro’s voice trailed off. “Not much else to see here in Shibuya. There’s the arcade, though I’ve never been in there. Then stores.”

“Then let’s go to the arcade.”

“… of course you’d pick that.” Goro led Akira outside and down the street, soon moving into the arcade with him.

The arcade was a lot more interesting then Goro had expected. The shooter game was particularly fun. Akira won the first round, Goro the second and third round. Akira the forth. Tied, the two of them played one last round.

“Winner gets to make one request from the other, that the other has to grant,” Akira teased.

“Deal.” Goro smirked, focusing on the game. Target after target downed as he fired quickly. Akira tried to nudge him to the side so he couldn’t see the targets clearly. Goro laughed and nudged him back, turning his back to Akira to protect the gun from the other guy’s reach as he continued to play. “Ha!” He was grinning as the final score showed. “I won, even with you trying to cheat.”

“No rule against trying to distract someone,” Akira smirked when Goro rolled his eyes. “So, what’s your request.”

“Mmm… for now, I’m going to hold onto that. I don’t have one yet.”

“You’re going to hold this over me aren’t you?” Akira pouted.

“Oh, for certain.” Goro held the door for Akira as they moved outside. “It’s fun, having one up on you. I get the feeling that doesn’t happen often.”

“I like to win.”

“I’ve noticed.”

The two of them fell silent as they walked back towards the subway station. The ride back to Yongen-jaya was quiet, but comfortable. As they reached Goro’s place, he cleared his throat absently. “So… do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“In the morning yes, but my afternoon’s free.” Akira smiled, “Why don’t you come over to LeBlanc tomorrow evening, join me for supper again?”

“I’d like that. I’ll see you then.” Goro nodded to Akira then turned, heading into his place. He glanced back once before moving inside and locking the door behind himself. A soft groan escaped as he sank onto the couch, leaning forward and resting his head in his hands. “What am I doing?” He rubbed his face a moment then sighed. He knew things would never work out for them in the end, so why was he setting himself up to get his heart broken?

He knew why. There was just something about Akira that he couldn’t stay away from. Akira was this brightly burning flame that just drew him in. No matter how he tried to warn himself, he just couldn’t stay away.

Akira chuckled when Morgana greeted him in front of LeBlanc. He let the feline back into his bag and headed inside, making his way upstairs.

“So how was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Akira insisted.

“… if you say so.” Morgana meowed, amusement in his voice.


	12. Looking Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly memories are surfacing, and people are making changes as they try to look ahead, instead of focusing on the past.

Akira loved Sunday. It was the one day of the week he could sleep in. Catch up on sleep he hadn’t gotten during the week, just spend time in bed and totally skip that infernal time of day people called morning. Akira was not, and never would be, a morning person. Today he was meeting Ryuji in Shibuya though. He groaned, dragging himself out of bed at 10am, glaring at the clock pleadingly before rising and getting ready for the day. By the time he got downstairs, the café was already open. He sighed, mumbling a thanks to Sojiro when the man passed him a coffee. The coffee was drank slowly, Akira slowly becoming more aware of what was going on.

The empty coffee mug was returned to Sojiro. His bag with Morgana inside rested over his shoulder. Akira checked his phone for any messages then headed outside.

Locating Ryuji was never difficult, even with how Shibuya overflowed with people. The blonde stuck out. Akira offered the guy a smile, moving into the shopping district with him. “Why don’t you visit a few of the stores, see about getting some snacks and medical stuff for us,” he suggested. “I’ll get the other stuff.”

“Huh? But do you even know where it is?” Ryuji frowned, then groaned, shoulders slumping some. “Right, right… you’ve done this before- we’ve done this before. Hell man, it’s still hard to believe it.” He scratched the back of his neck. “So…”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Akira tugged his phone out, texting Ryuji.

**Akira:** We spoke openly about things last time. Always got into bad situations. We need to be more careful. The more we stay hidden the better. I think we can do more, if people don’t know much about us.

Ryuji huffed and looked at the text. He scuffed his shoe then nodded. “Gotcha. Well… see you tomorrow I guess.”

Akira smiled, “We’ll both get the supplies we need for that school project then.”

Ryuji just blinked, staring a moment before getting it. “Right, right. The school project. Well, see ya.” He gave Akira a high five before jogging over to a nearby convenience store.

Akira chuckled and shook his head. Ryuji’s enthusiasm was catching, sometimes.

Moving to the backstreet, he walked past the two investigators who where talking about Iwai. He ignored them, moving into the shop. “Afternoon,” he said cheerfully, looking towards the owner then just pausing. Goro was at the counter, purchasing a model sword and gun. Neither was a style he’d seen Goro using before. Was he collecting for fun, or trying something different? Was there even more that Goro could do that he wasn’t aware of? “Fancy seeing you here Goro,” Akira offered him a smile.

Goro blinked, eyes owlish for a moment as he looked at Akira, though he quickly smiled, shoulders relaxing as he put on his typical television charm. “Well, I did say I came here at times,” he pointed out. “I was just picking up some more models.”

“I was hoping to get some good models, myself.” Akira mused. “With how you recommended it, I thought this was the best place to come.”

“It is,” Goro confirmed. He put what he’d purchased in a bag. “Well, I’ve some errands to run. I’ll see you tonight.” He smiled at Akira.

“Tonight,” Akira confirmed with a grin. He watched the detective prince leave before turning his attention to Iwai.

Goro sighed once he was outside. He hadn’t expected to run into Akira there, of all places. He turned, starting to head back to the main street when he was stopped by an elder detective. Eyebrows lifted when he recognized the man. “Yes?”

“What were you doing in a shady place like that?” The elder detective grunted.

“Purchasing some items.”

“Purchasing what?”

Goro sighed, “Honestly. Have you never heard of cosplay, or things like acting? Or even simple collecting? A friend of mine asked me to pick up a couple models for her, for an anime convention she’s going to. This place makes some great imitations for that sort of thing.”

The detective frowned and opened his mouth to say more, but Goro lifted a hand, stopping him. “I don’t care if you see me as ‘too young’ to be an investigator, detective. But let me remind you that I have proven my skill many times. Enough so that even at my age, I have as much rank as you do. This place is an honest one. A man trying to make a living helping collectors fill out their collections. If I learn you’re harassing this place, well… you won’t like the result.” He offered the man a pleasant smile, “Good day.” He bowed ever so slightly then continued walking, ignoring the other detective’s sputtering. Sometimes it was fun to put people like that in their place. They grubbed around and tried to put innocent people behind bars, just to show that they had what it took to actually arrest someone. They took bribes and money freely, then turned around and jailed the people that paid them the moment things started looking iffy. They ignored the people that were truly in trouble and just went after the big marks.

The justice system was so corrupt. It made him sick sometimes.

He knew that far too well. Even if he did try to bring justice to people… he was part of the corruption. Just in a different way.

The trip the Niijima’s home was a short one, thankfully. Goro rang the doorbell once there, pausing when he saw Sae’s younger sister answer the door. “Ah, pardon me. I’m-“

“I know who you are.” The younger Niijima frowned as she looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to speak with your older sister. I have something she wanted me to get for her, and she said she wanted to talk,” Goro frowned, leaning to the side slightly to try and see past the younger sister. “Is she here?”

“She’s busy.”

“Will you please tell her I’m here?”

The younger sister, Makoto, sighed. “I will let her know.” She turned, “Sae,” she called. “Someone from your work is here?”

“Oh? Who?”

“The detective prince.”

Goro just smiled, maintaining his charming look even if he wanted to grimace. What had he done to piss her off? He hadn’t even met this Niijima before, and she was acting like a snarling dog.

“Let him in,” Sae called. “Bring him to the living room, please?”

Makoto sighed and stepped back so Goro could enter. She watched closely as Goro removed his shoes then turned, leading him to her sister. She glanced at him once then vanished into another room.

“Did I offend her somehow?” Goro asked, watching as the younger sister left.

“No, you didn’t,” there was a pause, “I did…” she sighed, “Please take a seat.”

“I got the models you asked for,” Goro passed them to her then sank onto the couch. “What did you want to talk about?”

Sae leaned back in her seat for a moment, drumming her fingers on her knee. “What’s the current living situation?”

“Excuse me?”

“I know your in the foster care system.” She paused, watching as her sister stepped into the room.

“I’m going to the store,” Makoto said stiffly.

“Of course,” Sae nodded to her sister and watched her go, relaxing as she heard the door close. A sigh escaped. “Anyway. I still don’t remember all the details of the loop. Things are coming back steadily, though. One thing in particular. After you shot Akira in the interrogation room, I decided to do a background check on you. I’ve been remembering those details. One thing in particular that I remember is how you’re a foster kid. There was no record of who your guardian was, though. Do you live in one of the institutes or…?”

“Thankfully, no. I do have a foster parent.”

“Is that foster parent a good one?”

Goro’s eyes fell. “I’ve had… several, since I was put in the foster system. Most of them never bother to keep my more then a month or two. This latest one has kept be the longest. Though I don’t live with him. He doesn’t know where I live- thankfully.”

Sae crossed her legs, leaning back. Finger tapping once… twice…

“I have to check in with him once a month.”

“… and? He wouldn’t let you do that without getting anything out of it.”

“He doesn’t. Because he’s my guardian he insists that most of my income be handed over to him. He claims its his, since I’m a minor still.”

“But how do you pay for things thought?” Sae’s brow furrowed, “if he’s taking all your yen…” her voice trailed off. “Ah… so you live off the spoils you get from the metaverse.”

“It’s not always the best, and ends up leaving me with less time to sleep, then I should have, but it’s an income no one can trace. I don’t have to live in one of those… places, and I have my freedom”

“That’s not much of a way to live.”

“… no. It’s not.” Goro sighed, pinching his brow. “But it works. Besides, it’s not like-“

“I know.” Sae grimaced. “I remember the talk we had. You didn’t expect to live past taking down Shido last time, and you still don’t expect to. Goro, you’re still a kid. Even if you have a job and work as an adult, you’re not one. Not yet. You should have a chance to live.”

“Why? I don’t have a reason, Sae.”

“Akira.”

Goro blushed, looking away. “But I betrayed him… once he remembers, would he even want me around? I’m worthless, compared to him. I’ve worked my ass off for what little I have… and never feel like I get anywhere. Where he walks around having people flock to him. Even the worst situations happen, in the end everything just goes right for him. He has better people to hang out with, then me.”

Sae rolled her eyes and leaned forward, flicking his nose.

“Hey!” Goro jerked back some.

“Get over yourself,” Sae huffed. “Yes. In the past you betrayed him, but you haven’t betrayed him in this loop. You have a fresh start. You said yourself, you want to change the game for the better. Well, start by changing things for yourself.” She tugged out a paper, showing it to him. “Starting with this. I’ll take custody of you.” She smirked at Goro’s startled look. “I’ve already done all the paperwork, all I need now is your signature.”

“You… wait, what?” Goro frowned.

“I’ll make sure you have money for food and clothes, and I want to see where you’re living now, make sure you have everything you need.” Sae sighed, “I won’t be taking your income- you should be putting that in savings, or investing it. Something to help you in the future. Metaverse funds go towards metaverse stuff, other funds to actually living, and taking care of yourself.

We see each other several days a week anyway, so I can count that for checking in.”

Goro’s mouth worked for a moment but nothing managed to come out. He licked his lips absently, swallowed, then sighed. “Are you certain about this? You could get in a lot of legal trouble at the end of this mess, if you’re my guardian and I’ve…”

“I’m certain,” Sae said firmly. She set the paper in front of him, and passed him a pen.

Goro’s hand shook some as he signed the paper, feeling overwhelmed with this and not entirely certain how to take it.

“We’ll visit your place tomorrow, so I can make sure you have what you need.” Sae took the signed paper, tucking it away in a folder.

“Of course.” Goro rubbed his chin absently. “Thank you, Sae.” He offered her a brief smile before rising. “I should be going. I’m having dinner with someone tonight.”

“With Akira?”

Goro huffed, cheeks warming. “… yes.”

“Mmm… give it a chance, Goro. I remember how upset he was when he thought you were dead. Try to open up- who knows, things might work out.”

“… maybe.” Goro bowed and said farewell before leaving. Just needing a little time to himself before he went to the café.

It was evening when Goro went to the café. He greeted the owner with a cheerful smile then moved upstairs, “Evening Akira.”

Akira lit up, “Evening Goro.” He motioned to the couch. “Come on, take a seat. I got us something to eat.”

Goro moved over, taking one of the bento boxes and peaking inside. “Looks good. Thanks for inviting me over.” Eyes flit to where Morgana was sitting on the windowsill. Was that feline glaring at him?

“Anytime,” Akira assured him. He smiled at Goro.

Goro felt like his heart was melting. Damn it… he wanted to just wrap his arms around Akira and hug the guy. Or have Akira push him back and kiss…

He shook his head, trying to shove those thoughts back before he ended up embarrassing himself by blushing brightly. “Well, it’s nice to not eat alone.”

Akira nodded in agreement, “For certain. Being alone- during meals, or just at all- can be downright depressing sometimes.” He ate a bite of food, eyes on Goro.

“Mmm… it can be,” Goro agreed.

The two of them visited for a couple hours. Akira asking different questions about how Goro had become a detective. Curious how Goro had gotten into the field, wanting to hear details about some of Goro’s cases. Goro relaxed as he talked about those cases, remembering how no one had expected him to solve the cases. The shock on the officer’s faces had been priceless. Akira laughed as Goro told him some of the stories.

They were both smiling when Goro finally left for the evening, ready for a good night’s sleep.


	13. Diving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Akira and his team to dive into the palace for the first official time. 
> 
> Meanwhile, Goro is learning what it means to have an adult looking after him, for once.

It was afternoon when Goro heard a knock on his door. He moved to the door, peaking out the front window before sighing softly and opening it, “Afternoon Niijima-san.”

“Please, call me Sae,” she encouraged.

“Of course… Sae.” Goro nodded to her.

“So this is where you live?” She slipped her shoes off, stepping into the slippers that he’d left for guests.

“It is. It’s a nice little place. A lot more modest then my old one but… more private.” Goro glanced around. “Well… feel free to look around. You did say that’s what you wanted to do.”

Sae nodded, moving to the kitchen first. She frowned as she checked the cupboards, finding them mostly bare. She checked the fridge as well. “… the milk’s expired.”

“I don’t eat here often. I’m… not any good at cooking,” Goro admitted. “I don’t always think to get groceries. Usually end up eating out.”

“Eating out can drain the wallet pretty quickly.”

“Oh, believe me, I know it. It’s not always filling either.”

Sae shook her head. “Alright… let’s go.” She moved back to the door, putting her shoes back on.

“Go where?”

“Shopping.” Sae gave him a sharp look when he started to protest. “I’m going to teach you how to put together some simple bento boxes. We’ll start there. I want you to see the local doctor sometime this week, check and make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need. You said that nose-guy called this a game? If you want to turn the table on him, you need to be at full health for that.”

“… true.” Goro checked his wallet, then slid his own shoes on.

It was strange. Going to the market for the purpose of buying food. Sae made him get a week’s worth of groceries, and she paid for most of it. He insisted on paying for a couple treats he wanted. She purchased bento boxes, rice, nori, and a collection of other things. Some of them were things he’d eaten, but never actually attempted to work with before. As he looked at the growing number of bags he felt like she’d gotten too much. Almost half of it was veggies, too. She scoffed at the thought, saying she was only getting enough to feed one person for a week.

He honestly didn’t think he ate that much in a week, but there was no point in arguing.

Once back home, Sae cleaned out the fridge first. Removing anything that was gone by and throwing it before filling it with the new things she’d purchased for him. The different foods were set out on the kitchen table and counter before she got the bento boxes out. “I did get some extra. The bento boxes aren’t only good for when you need to take a meal with you, somewhere, but they can also be used in the metaverse. I’ve noticed you take some snacks in with you, to restore energy or health. Well, with a bento box you can make sure what you include can help both.”

“I never thought of that,” Goro admitted.

“I thought as much.” She shook her head, then put the rice on to cook. She had him help cut the veggies up and cook them. She corrected his hold on the knife and made sure he was cutting things evenly. “Do you think anyone else remembers yet?”

“I can’t be certain.” Goro put some carrots in a pot, setting that on the stove as directed. “So far, Akira doesn’t seem to remember anything. I haven’t run into anyone else on that team, save for your sister.”

“Makoto doesn’t remember yet,” she confirmed. She cut up some chicken, cooking that in a pan.

“As far as I can tell, the two of us are the only two that remember so far.”

“Mmm…” Sae frowned thoughtfully. “If you’re going to alter this game… more people need to remember.”

“I’m sure Akira and the others will remember eventually.” Goro’s eyes fell. “I’d almost rather they not.”

“Give them some credit. They might not hate you.”

Goro snorted. “… right.”

“You doubt it?”

“How can they not hate me when…” his voice trailed off and he shook his head.

“Is that really how you feel, or is your palace clouding your judgement?” Sae questioned.

Goro scowled, glaring down at the scallions he was cutting. “I don’t know.” His knife cut down through the scallion, thunking against the cutting board. “I don’t know, damn it. I was so certain before, but now that I know I have a palace I’m questioning almost everything. Questioning my motives, my life… my purpose. Questioning my feelings. Seems like there’s only one thing I _don’t’_ question but even that…” he sucked in a slow breath then sighed, sliding the scallion off the cutting board and into a bowl Sae pointed to.

“And what don’t you question?” Sae urged.

“… I…” Goro shook his head.

Sae turned. “Goro. I asked you a question. What don’t you question?”

Goro grit his teeth, not wanting to answer but not wanting to lie to her. “My feelings for Akira.”

Sae smirked, “Focus on those,” she encouraged. “Focus on what you feel like, when you think of that. That, that is true to your heart even when nothing else is.”

Over the next couple hours the two of them continued. Cooking, putting the bento boxes together. Sae explaining things to him. Then she had him show her the rest of the house. She was pleased with most of it, though she frowned when she saw what was on the wall in his bedroom, hidden by the map. “This…”

“The conspiracy,” Goro said softly.

Sae’s eyes trailed over what was there. Taking note of names, details that were there, things that needed to be confirmed. “This is even bigger than I thought,” she admitted softly.

“Far bigger,” Goro agreed, his voice weary.

“And you’re trying to take this all on, by yourself?”

“Well, I didn’t think anyone would want to help me with it. I haven’t been the best at making and keeping allies,” Goro drawled.

“There are people that would help you.” Sae sighed, “I know you’ve been living as an adult for a while but you are still young. Like it or not, you don’t have as much experience as some. I can think of several people who would help with this, if they were brought into it.”

Goro frowned, “I don’t want to put people at risk, though.”

“Leaving others out of this is putting _more_ people at risk. The more people who help, the better the chances of putting a stop to it- with minimal damages.”

Goro opened his mouth to protest then sighed, shoulders falling some. “… you’re right.”

Sae rested a hand on his head, tussling his hair. “You’re not alone anymore, Goro. Like it or not, you brought me into this. I’ll help- and I know others will too.”

“… you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Sae moved downstairs again and took a seat on the couch, motioning for him to sit as well. “Now,” she frowned slightly, “Tell me about your palace.”

Goro groaned, sinking onto the couch. “…alright…”

Meanwhile, the school day came to a close for Akira and the other three Phantom Thieves. The four of them entered the palace and started making their way inside. For the most part, the layout was familiar to them. The location of the different shadows, the shadow’s patrol routes… all things they’d faced before. It didn’t make the place any less disgusting or perverted, but it did make it easier to move about. That is, until they reached the first major change.

“The ‘effin hell?!” Skull glared at the staircase in front of them. “Dude, this wasn’t broke last time.” He kicked a piece of rubble with a grumble.

“Oh, I’ve got just the thing to help!” Mona bounced up and down, waving his arms for attention. “Joker, try this out!” He bounded over to Joker, having the guy bend over and hold his arm out. Morgana fit something to Joker’s arm, purring happily as he made sure it fit. “There, try that out!”

“What is it?” Panther asked, peaking over Joker’s shoulder.

“A grappling hook,” Mona grinned.

“But there’s only one of them… what about the rest of us?” Skull scowled.

Mona opened his mouth then closed it, pouting. “I only have one…”

“We’ll make more,” Joker assured them. He scooped Mona up, ignoring the started, ‘hey!’ He set Mona in Panther’s arms then wrapped an arm around her waist. He pulled her close, then used the grappling hook. Pulling both of them upwards onto the top of the staircase. He set Ann down then jumped down.

“The hell I’m letting you carry me-“ Skull growled before yelping as he was lifted over Joker’s shoulder like a bag of rice. The grappling hook was used, and soon they were at the top of the stairs. “W-w-what the hell man?!”

Joker rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s keep going.” He smirked, sauntering ahead.

Mona chuckled and bounced after Joker, a smug smile on his face.

Panther chuckled, “Cheer up, we’ll have one soon,” She gave Skull’s shoulder a light punch then hurried after the other two.

Skull groaned then followed with a grumble. “Dude, stuff really has changed up,” Skull huffed. “It feels like my persona’s stronger than before. Like he’s got a new ability or something.”

“We need to keep a close eye on things, keep track of what changes and what doesn’t,” Panther sighed. “We know a lot about these places, but some things have changed.”

“If some things have changed in here, then it’s possible things have changed in reality too,” Joker pointed out. “We’ve got a general idea of things, but we can take nothing for granted.” He paused when he spotted a shadow with a bright red aura. He cursed under his breath and took cover, motioning for the others to do the same.

“Is that thing frikkin glowing?!” Skull blurted. He flinched when Panther smacked the back of his head.

“It is. That shadow seems to be downright savage,” Mona frowned, “Those ones are rarer than normal shadows, and they’re a lot stronger. Careful, they won’t negotiate even if knocked down unless they’re really low on health.”

“Well, thankfully we’ve got some kick-ass weapons to use, amIright?” Skull grinned, “Come on, let’s fight it.”

Mona sighed, “… yep, nothing’s changed.”

“Alright, but we’re running if its too strong.” Joker watched the shadow a moment then darted forward, leaping on it and seizing its mask. He tore the mask off the shadow, forcing the battle to start.

“Alright, gettem Joker!” Morgana cheered.

Joker nodded, lifting his gun and unloading that into the enemy first, knocking down it’s health a little ways. Ryuji slammed his weapon against the shadow’s knees, making the beast stumble some.

“Burn!” Panther smirked as her persona threw a flame spell at the shadow. She grimaced when the shadow seemed to resist it, perking up a moment later when a burn actually took hold. “Yess!”

“Nice one Panther!” A wind spell came from Mona’s persona, making the flames jump up even higher.

The fighting lasted a few more turns before they defeated the shadow. Joker breathed a sigh of relief then looked around the area. “This is…”

“Not the creepy books,” Panther groaned. “I hate those.” She sighed.

“Let’s get that over with,” Joker said softly. “We’ll get the map, get down to the next safe room then we’re finished for today. It’s getting late by now.”

“Alright,” the others chorused. Together, they got to work.

In Goro’s palace, Goro and Sae were behind the opera house. Saw was taking time to examine each gravestone, her face unreadable as she looked them over. Goro had taken a seat on a nearby stone bench, a sigh escaping as he watched her. The woman was near impossible to read right now. What was she thinking? Was she starting to doubt her choice about adopting him? Honestly, he still couldn’t believe she’d done that.

“So. You’re not the one that killed Okumura.” Sae’s voice was thoughtful as she scanned the area again.

“No.”

“Do you know who did?”

“… no.” Goro sighed, “I’m guessing it’s the same person who killed Futaba’s mother, and…” he frowned, “and the one that triggered a mental shutdown, on my mother.”

“Your mother suffered a mental shutdown?”

“I believe so, yes. I… for years I thought it was a suicide, but now…” he frowned. “They show it. Inside.”

“Do you mind if we watch it?”

“… I don’t mind.” He did. He never wanted to see it again. Each time was like tearing the scab off a bad wound and letting it bleed once more. Yet he kept being drawn back to this place. There was something, something he needed to do. He just… didn’t know what it was yet.

As they made their way inside, the guards at the door attacked them. Goro had a pass to enter, but Sae did not. The fight was hard, the guards calling for backup twice before they managed to break through. Goro scowled as he glanced down at his uniform, noting how it was splattered with the shadow’s blood. “Every damn time,” he grunted. He shook his head and led Sae further in. They had to fight five more times before they reached the vip booth that he’d seen the event of his mother’s death, again.

Sae watched the scene play out, eyes narrowing a touch as she watched. When the scene finally ended she turned to him. “Who was the man that grabbed you? Stopped you from jumping in after your mother?”

Goro just shook his head. “No idea. I’d never seen him before.”

Sae hummed softly, seeming to be deep in thought. After a few minutes, she sighed. “Alright. I think I’ve seen enough for today. You need to see that doctor asap, stock up on some medical supplies. We can meet up again in a couple days, see about exploring this place some more.”

Goro nodded slowly, then used a goho-m. Returning the two of them to the entrance. They walked back to his home in the metaverse before leaving, finding themselves back in Goro’s entryway.

“Let’s go get some coffee,” Sae offered.

“ _Please._ ” Goro agreed. “That sounds fantastic right now.”

Sae offered him a brief smile, then led him to Café LeBlanc.

Sojiro looked up when he heard the bell, scowling when he saw Sae Niijima. “What are you doing here?” He growled. “Come to-“

“I’m simply here for some coffee. Your special of the day please,” Sae interrupted, taking a seat. “I’m paying for his coffee as well.” She nodded to Goro.

Sojiro’s frown deepened, then he sighed. “Your usual?”

“Please.” Goro took a seat.

Sojiro grunted something, preparing the drinks and setting them on the counter.

“Thanks,” Goro’s hands curled around the warm mug of coffee. He just watched as the steam rose from the mug, eyes distant as his mind played through the scene of his mother’s death once more.

Was his whole plan to tear his father down, just playing into the hand of the man that killed his mother? If Shido wasn’t the top of this whole conspiracy… who was? Last loop he’d been so convinced that when his father went down, that would be the end of it. He’d been proven wrong, of course. In the end… he still didn’t know all the players.

He sipped his coffee, turning the questions over and over in his mind.

Sae finished her coffee long before Goro did. She gave his shoulder a brief squeeze before heading out, leaving the detective prince in the café to enjoy a second mug of coffee in quiet.

It wasn’t long before Akira walked in through the front door, the phantom thief greeting the café owner with a smile. Feline poking its head out of the guy’s bag. Goro sighed as he heard the cat moaning about him being there again. His hand twitched at the thought of grabbing that annoying feline and giving it an earful. He lifted his coffee mug, taking another sip instead. “Evening Akira.”

“Evening Goro,” Akira smiled, moving over. His smile faltered as he looked at Goro, concern coming to his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

Akira took a napkin, wetting it in some water and gently wiping some dried blood off Goro’s jaw. “You look rather upset.”

Goro held his breath as he felt Akira touching him with the napkin, releasing it slowly when the other pulled away. “Do I? It’s nothing, I assure you.” He sipped his coffee again. “It’s nothing new.”

“Then it’s something.” Akira took a seat beside of him.

“It’s nothing I want to talk about.”

“Sometimes talking helps lighten the mood. Sharing your worries makes them not as painful.”

“… not this.” Goro shook his head, “Not… not this. It’s just an old memory that was brought up.”

“About?”

Goro smiled weakly, “Maybe… another time. I’m not quite ready to share it.” He finished the coffee. “Some memories don’t get better when shared.”

“Even so, they hurt less when a person has a shoulder to lean on.”

Goro studied Akira a moment then rose, nodding to Sojiro. “The coffee was wonderful, as always.” He looked at Akira again, “I’m busy all week. Maybe we can get together this weekend, again? I might be over for coffee some evenings but… it’s hard to say.”

“Sure. You’re welcome over here anytime,” Akira assured him.

Goro nodded, “I know.” He turned, “… thanks.” He left the shop, walking home.

Akira frowned as Goro left then sighed. “Honestly…” He ran his fingers through his hair then turned, heading upstairs. He let Morgana jump out of his back. “I hate seeing him so depressed.”

“Let him be,” Morgana hissed. “He tried to kill you!”

“He saved all of us,” Akira retorted.

“But!” Morgana groaned when Akira started getting ready for bed. The feline grumbled, sulking some. “He’s bad news.”

Akira just sighed, ignoring Morgana’s grumbling and going to bed.

He had to find ways to make things better.

Somehow.

There just had to be a way.


	14. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems like every day holds a different surprise for Akira, and for Goro, as the week passes by. How they face these surprises could drastically change things, moving forward.

It was a balancing act. Working for Shido, working on cases, working on school work, working with Sae. Goro had been busy enough before he’d woken Sae’s memories, now he was wondering if that had been a wise move. She wanted to be kept in the loop on things, and even with all his practice at deceiving people, it felt like Goro couldn’t get anything past her now that she had an idea what was going on. It was frustrating in so many ways, but at the same time… comforting, in a small way. On Tuesday, Sae had Goro join her and her sister for dinner. Makoto was glaring at him the whole while. Not a surprise really, Goro knew that the younger sister hated how busy Sae always was. Likely blamed him for it, partially.

No doubt that glare would get even worse, when she remembered things.

He just put on his television smile, chatting with Sae and remaining polite to Makoto. He asked how her classes were going, and just a few other basic questions, trying to encourage her to talk. Nothing seemed to help, and the cold shoulder just got colder, if anything. It was frustrating. He didn’t want to make things more difficult for Sae. It felt like she was already going far beyond what she needed, for him. No doubt that wasn’t sitting well with her sister.

Akira, Ryuji, Ann and Morgana were diving into the palace depths while Goro was trying to make peace with Makoto. They had all been happy to learn they had some of their best weapons and armor from the last loop. Somehow, those items had lasted through the time change. At the same time, many of the enemies were more challenging then they were before. The fights more intense and tiring. It was hard to pinpoint just why that was. With that in mind, they didn’t just blow through the palace in one go. Instead pacing themselves, deciding to go in Tuesday, Thursday and again Saturday. Hopefully that would be enough to let them train and prepare for the final boss they already knew would be coming, while not pushing themselves to complete exhaustion.

Today they had found something rather unusual. A room blocked off by thorny vines. Joker cut through the vines with his knife, then pushed the door open. Past the door was a strange little room with an odd looking item in the center.

“Dude… is that a frekkin skull?!” Skull scowled, finding that weird.

“It’s a will seed,” Mona chirped. “Oooh, there should be three of these in the palace. They’re like treasures, or mini treasures? If we can get all three, we should get something that’ll be really powerful against the boss here!”

“Really? Oh, then we need to find them!” Panther grinned then paused, “Um… how do you know that Mona?”

“Well, I just… know?” Mona scratched behind his ear absently. “I’m honestly not sure, but I know it’s true.” He nodded, then stretched. “Talk about energy boost! I don’t know what it just did, but I feel ready to get back at it. What about the rest of you?”

“Hell yeah, let’s go kick some ass!” Skull cheered.

Mona groaned, flopping onto the floor and hitting his head against it. “That doesn’t mean be loud!” he mumbled something under his breath.

Joker chuckled. “Come on. We’ll keep our eyes open for the other two. We’ll see what happens when we get all three, alright? It’s something new- might give us an edge in the final battle here. That would be a good thing.” He cracked his knuckles then dove back into exploring. Leading the team forward, opening up more passageways to make travel easier. Finding more of the safe rooms. It was exciting, getting into this again. Even if they’d done it before, it wasn’t dull by any means. There was a thrill to it. Sneaking past shadows and ambushing different ones. Solving the puzzles, and using the grappling hook. It was all like a thrill ride. Danger, a rush, and some reward in dropped yen and items.

When they left the palace that evening, Skull stretched then groaned. “Wish we were going back in tomorrow. I’d love to beat the shit outta something again.”

“You always want to do that,” Mona huffed.

Panther shook her head. “I’m going to check on Shiho tomorrow. I promised her I’d would. And… and I just need to see her.”

“Still hard to believe that Sae and the asshole were on the roof when that happened,” Skull huffed. “Honestly, how’d they manage it?”

“I’m just glad they did.” Panther shook her head, “I doubt they’re going to share how. At least… at least Shiho will get counseling, and won’t have to recover this time.” She sniffed. “I- I mean she’s still going to have to recover some, just… just not to the extent she did last time.”

Mona sighed and pat Panther’s knee gently. “That is a good thing,” he agreed. “Right now we need to keep pushing forward. The sooner we finish this palace the better.”

“Right. Sooner we finish it, sooner that bastard will take time off from teaching…” Panther frowned, “and the less chance he’ll have to hurt even more people.”

Joker nodded in agreement. “Agreed. If we keep things up at this pace, we should be able to finish come Monday. I want to send the calling card in the morning and hit the palace that afternoon. Give him less time to get ready. Not sure if that’ll change much, but it might.”

“Good plan.” Mona nodded.

“Alright. Time to head home.” Joker offered the others a smile, then led them out of the metaverse.

Wednesday was another day at school for Akira. Listening to different people gossiping about him. He went to the library for a little while, took out a book he hadn’t read before. A higher level one. The girl that was working in there thought it would be too complicated for him, but let him take it out all the same. It would be something new to read. He was grateful for that, at least. He headed back to Yongen-Jaya next, making his way to the clinic. He had a death persona with him today, and he wanted to see about speaking to Tae. The medical supplies she was able to provide him with were priceless for their group, and he wanted her to be able to help her friend as soon as possible. He didn’t think he could make her remember, so he’d just have to go through the motions again.

As he moved into the clinic he noted that Tae wasn’t behind the counter. A soft hum escaped and he took a seat, waiting for her to finish seeing whomever she was seeing. Eyes drifted to his phone as he looked at the different texts. He chuckled as he saw one from Ryuji.

**Ryuji:** Dude… I just saw this hot girl walk by. She was just… mmm… damn.

 **Ann:** Ryuji! Honestly, we didn’t need to know that!

 **Ryuji:** Oh shit! I didn’t mean to put that on group chat. Shit shit shit…

 **Ann:** Oh don’t tell me… I think I know who you saw. Ryuji, she’d break your nose.

 **Ryuji:** Aww come on, she wouldn’t hurt me. She’s nice, and with my charm I’d get her number easily enough.

 **Akira:** Should I pick up an extra med kit, for treating Ryuji’s broken nose?

 **Ryuji:** The ef’ man?!

 **Akira:** No, I’m not trying to get numbers with you again, in Hawaii.

 **Ann:** Wait, he tried to get girl’s numbers in Hawaii? When did he do that?

 **Akira:** He dragged Mishima and I around too. Total fail every time.

 **Ann:** Ryuji!

_Ryuji has left the chat._

**Ann:** Gaaah! Ryuji! We’re not done talking about this!”

Akira chuckled, unable to help the grin that spread across his face as he lowered the phone. He glanced up as he heard the door open, eyebrows lifting as he spotted Akechi and Tae coming out of the exam room.

“You need to follow that list I gave you,” Tae scolded. “It will be a start. I’ll have your bloodwork finished by Thursday, with your results. Come in sometime then.”

Goro nodded slowly, “Of course doctor.”

“Good.” Tae nodded, tapping his shoulder with her clipboard then turning her attention to Akira. “You here for a checkup too?”

Akira blinked, “Oh ah, yeah. I am.” He rose. “Goro, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Goro waved him off. “Just getting a checkup. I was overdue for one, and she was suggested.”

Akira frowned, “and the checkup… you’re fine?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Goro shook his head, “You don’t need to worry about me.” He offered Akira a smile, “I’m still busy this week but… Sunday still on?”

“Oh, for sure,” Akira nodded.

“Great. I’ll see you then.” Goro nodded to him, then left the clinic.

Akira frowned, worry in his eyes as he turned to Tae. “ _Is_ he fine?”

Tae just sighed, “Yes. The detective prince will be fine.”

Akira knew that irritated look on the doctor’s face. “… if you say so. If there’s anything I can do to help him I want to know. He’s not the best at sharing when he’s feeling bad.”

“You’re a friend of his?”

“Yeah.”

Tae looked at him thoughtfully then sighed. “Come on in. You’re here for something too, right?”

“I am.” Akira rose, moving into the exam room with her.

Thursday was a busy day for everyone. Akira and his group dove into the palace once more, pushing deeper into the place. Deeper and upwards. The grappling hook let them skip a large portion of the roof, avoiding some enemies that were particularly powerful. Or would have, if Skull hadn’t complained about wanting to fight them. In the end the group ambushed the shadows on the roof one by one. Taking them out systematically until the roof was clear. Skull cheered at that, pleased with how well they’d done.

“We’re getting stronger, lots stronger.” He smirked, “Hell, Kamoshida won’t stand a chance against us when we finally go against him. Heh…”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Panther warned. “I know I am _not_ looking forward to going up against that creep again.” She shuddered. “Just remembering the way he stared at me…”

“Don’t worry Panther, we’ll protect you,” Mona declared, beaming up at her.

Joker chuckled as he watched Panther pick the feline up and ruffle his fur. Honestly, if Mona ever gained a human form he could see the feline being quite the ladies man.

They continued pushing forward, clearing the last few obstacles. They even managed to locate the rest of the will seeds. Panther made a disgusted sound as the three will seeds fused into one item on their own. “That looks… disgusting.”

“It does, but it has a lot of power,” Joker mused.

“Just what we need,” Mona declared. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

“We can establish a route to the treasure today,” Joker decided. “Saturday we’ll spend training and getting stronger. Maybe go through this place top to bottom, really get a good workout in. Then Monday we do the calling card- and take the treasure.”

“Hell yeah,” Skull grinned, “let’s do this!” He whooped, then joined the others as they continued moving forward in the palace. Working towards the throne room- and the treasure chamber behind it. It was a smooth run, for the most part. Though twice they were ambushed by shadows in places they hadn’t expected shadows to be. Thankfully they were able to handle the situation.

Friday, April 22nd, Goro and Sae went into his palace again, on her urging. Together the two of them were able to get into the palace a short distance, but there were too many obstacles for the two of them to face on their own. Like a spot where four floor tiles needed to be stepped on at the same time, while a fifth person would have to pull a lever. His palace wasn’t one a person could solo, or even do as a duet. In some ways it was depressing.

“We should bring the others in,” Sae encouraged. “If they’re group helped, I’m sure we could get past more of the obstacles.”

“Maybe. Not now though.”

“Why not now?”

“They’re not strong enough.” Goro shook his head, “They’re all soft. They’d charge in thinking they can save the day, and get slaughtered. Beyond that though, they don’t do a job unless the entire team agrees to it.”

“If they knew you needed help, I’m sure they would help.”

“… I’m not.” Goro shook his head, “Akira would, sure. The others? I’m not so sure about that. Your sister hates me, and she doesn’t even remember things yet. Once they all remember things…” he shook his head, then huffed when he saw Sae roll her eyes. “You know it’s so.”

“You need to stop thinking of things so negatively.” Sae sighed, “Come on, let’s head out for now. We won’t be getting in any deeper today.”

Goro sighed, “No… No we won’t be. Maybe-“ he paused mid-sentence, scowling as he heard a cry. “What the…?”

_“Stop that, please stop hurting me!”_

Goro and Sae glanced at each other then headed in the direction of the cry. Twice they ran into shadows and had to fight past them. The sound coming from the backstage area. As they passed a changing room Sae grabbed Goro’s arm and tugged him into a saferoom she spotted. She paused, making sure the safe room was registered on the app.

_“That hurts!”_

_“I don’t care,”_ a deeper voice growled, _“You’re nothing but a damn shadow.”_ Another cry as someone was hit.

Goro cursed and moved out of the safe room with Sae, ignoring the two shadows that tried to jump him as he darted towards the stage. As he got there, he spotted the black mask user and… himself? A younger version of himself. A shadow that looked just like he’d looked, when he was ten. Though this shadow was bruised and bleeding. “Hey!”

The dark mask user glanced up, smirking as he spotted Akechi. “Well well, never thought I’d see you here,” he snickered. “Ooh, fun times. Now I get to beat the real you up.” He shoved the shadow to the side and stalked towards Goro with a smirk. “Baldr Picaro!” The man’s blue eyes sharpened as he sneered at Goro, then slammed forward with an attack.

“Sigyn!” The persona leaped forward, shielding Goro from the attack. Blocking the enemies’ blow then countering it. The enemy spat some blood to the side then attacked again, fully focused on Goro.

Goro remained on the defensive, firing his gun at the enemy when he saw a chance. Just trying to weaken the foe.

Nemesis came from the side, ramming into Baldr Picaro as Sae leaped forward. Her blade striking hard, hitting the enemy's shoulder and making him bleed.

The man cursed and had his persona cast a light spell, temporarily blinding Goro and Sae. “Next time I’ll get you alone!”

Goro grimaced as the light faded, seeing the black mask user gone. “Damn it.” He cursed, then grimaced when Sae gave him a look. “Later,” he huffed, “I’ll explain later.” He knelt beside his shadow, brow furrowing in confusion. Any other shadow he’d seen so far matched the age of the person they were. He hesitated, then touched his shadow’s wrist, noting the chains that were clinging to his shadow. Multiple sizes too large, yet somehow hanging on.

“I can age or become younger in appearance,” the shadow whispered, voice sounding weary. “I’ve been around a long, long time. I…” the shadow wheezed, blood trickling down its jaw.

“Fuck it…” Goro grimaced and lifted his shadow, moving it to a couch he spotted. He stiffened as he sensed more shadows gathering around. Eyes snapped up, spotting several shadows nearby.

“They won’t hurt you. These ones, they just want to protect me.” The shadow Goro motioned, “Freya, Little John, Will Scarlet… a few others.” He rested his head back against the couch, a whimper escaping as he held a hand to his chest, wheezing again.

“Sae,” Goro looked up at the woman, feeling panicked. “He needs medical help. Anything hurting him-“

“Hurts you.” Sae frowned, “Stay here if he’ll let you. I’ll… I’ll get help.” She tugged out a goho-m, using it to leave the metaverse without him.

Goro felt a harsh pain in his own side and winced. Damn it all… he was feeling the pain his shadow felt. This wasn’t good. He needed to find a way to ensure that black mask user couldn’t get back in here again. But how?

He didn’t know how long he waited there. Just trying to keep his own shadow calm. He’d never thought he had a shadow of his own, not until the very end of last loop. Seeing his own shadow in pain, now, just reinforced the feeling that what he was doing for Shido was wrong. Hurting someone’s shadow might as well be hurting the person themselves. It had the same effect in the end.

It wasn’t long before he started hearing voices.

“So you’re telling me he’s had this palace all of last loop, and this one too?” The doctor… Sae brought the doctor here?

“Yes.”

“And that stranger was harming his shadow?”

“Yes.” Sae confirmed again.

“So in theory it’s possible that man has been messing with this palace and his shadow for some time.” Tae sighed. The woman frowned as she reached the backstage area.

Goro frowned as he looked over. The woman was dressed in full hospital scrubs, had a very large doctors bag dangling from her arm and had a large doctor’s coat on. Not quite the woman’s usual look. There was even a hospital face mask on her. Had she…? No… that was impossible… wasn’t it?

Tae tugged her facemask down, “Nightingale,” she called. Her persona coming forward beside of her. Fully masked and wearing gloves the persona was a bit taller than Tae, her sharp eyes taking in the situation. A lamp swinging back and forth on the bag she was carrying.

“You have…?” Goro stepped back from his shadow as Tae motioned for him to move.

“She woke to it as we were entering the palace,” Sae said. “She also seems to have regained all her memories from last loop.” She rested a hand on Goro’s shoulder, just watching what was going on.

Goro and Sae watched as Tae and her persona administered first aid to the shadow. Tae also took some blood from the shadow for testing, as well as some from Goro. Just giving the young man a look suggesting they’d be having a long talk next time he was in her office. Eventually, she sighed. Slumping against her persona some.

“Are you alright?” Goro frowned.

“I’m fine,” Tae waved her hand at him. “This is a lot more tiring then I expected, but I got a lot done.” She straightened, “those chains are bad for you, and there seems to be a toxin… I’m not sure what, just yet. I’m going to have to test it. If it builds up much more in your shadow, it would overflow to you,” she poked Goro in the chest. “Then no matter how I tried to treat you in the real world, it wouldn’t help. I’m glad you brought me in when you did.” She rested one hand on her hip. “Now then. I’m going to be needing to come in here fairly regularly, until your shadow is completely healed. Though figuring out how to solve this place is important. Sooner you can resolve this palace, the sooner you won’t be in danger from something happening to your shadow.”

Goro nodded in understanding, “That makes sense.”

“Good. Now, you.” Tae looked at Sae. “I want you in my office tomorrow. You had a palace of your own until recently? Right? I want to make certain that hasn’t effected your health negatively.”

Sae sighed, “Of course doctor.”

“Good.” Tae nodded, then turned. “We can talk about this more later. I’ll likely have some medicine that Akechi needs to take, as well as his shadow. It’ll take me a couple days to finish the blood tests and make the proper medicine though…” She tapped Goro on the head with her clipboard. “And you will be eating better.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes doctor.”

“And getting more sleep?”

“… yes doc.”

“Good.” Tae nodded, then sighed. “I’ve done all I can here, for now. But we’ll be in here again, I’m sure.”

“I’ll walk you home,” Sae offered. “I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

Tae watched as Goro used a goho-m, taking them all to the entrance of the palace. She looked around for a moment then nodded. “I am.” She moved out of the metaverse with them, finding herself in Goro’s home once they were out. The two women made sure Goro had something for supper ready, and made him promise to rest before they headed out.

Goro sighed softly, sinking onto the couch. It wasn’t even that late, only 3pm. Akira would likely be getting to the café soon, unless the guy was heading into the metaverse tonight. Maybe… maybe he should talk to Akira. He didn’t know. Right now he just felt overwhelmed, and exhausted.

How could he protect himself, from an enemy he didn’t know?

He was at a loss for answers.

Goro tugged his phone out after a while, his mind moving to Akira again. He bit his lip, then texted the other.

**Goro:** How is your day going Akira?

 **Akira:** It’s going great. Yours?

 **Goro:** Better now. I was just thinking about plans for Sunday. Do you mind coming over to my place, mid-morning? We could have breakfast, then head out.

Akira chuckled, grinning a bit as he saw the request. Unaware that Morgana was peaking over his shoulder at the phone.

 **Akira:** Let me guess. You want some pancakes?

 **Goro:** …that obvious?

 **Akira:** Yep.

 **Akira:** Bad day then? I remember what you said about pancakes… sweets in general, being a comfort food.

 **Goro:** As I said, it’s better now. I thought we’d go to Kichijoji. It’s an area I rather enjoy visiting, and I thought I’d show you around. It’s a large enough area that it’ll take most of the afternoon to explore. Mind letting Sojiro know? I don’t think he’ll mind if you get back late, if he knows you’re hanging out with me.

Akira’s grin grew.

 **Akira:** Sounds great. I’ve never been there. I’ll enjoy seeing something new.

 **Goro:** Great. I’ll see you then.

 **Akira:** Later cutie.

 **Goro:** … cutie?

 **Goro:** Later. Flirt.

Akira snickered, smirking as he imagined just what might be going through Goro’s mind right now. The guy _was_ cute. He didn’t care how much the detective prince tried to deny it. Maybe he could overload the guy with flattery~

“Stop swooning over that backstabber and pay attention to your friends!” Morgana meowed.

Akira jumped a little and rubbed his ear. “Hey, don’t yell in my ear.”

“Well I had to do something to get your attention.” Morgana jumped onto the table; hair puffed out a bit. “You’re texting Goro and grinning about it. You know full well that he’s _murdering_ people and that he’s just going to try and kill you in the end. Why are you being nice to a traitor?!”

Ann frowned, “Is that true Akira? Is that who you were just texting?”

“That’s messed up man,” Ryuji scowled, “Hell, we need to avoid him, not get him involved. The less he knows about us the better. Shit… what if he remembers stuff? He might try to stop us sooner. Before we can help as many people as we did last time. He’s dangerous!”

“I agree. I don’t trust him.” Ann frowned, “he’s an enemy.”

“He’s only an enemy because we never gave him a chance,” Akira insisted.

Downstairs, Sojiro filled a tray with some food and headed to the stairs to take it upstairs. He paused, frowning as he heard the kids arguing. Deciding to listen in and not interrupt.

“We gave him a chance! He wanted to shut our group down. Stop the phantom thieves totally.” Ryuji slammed his fist against the table, “That ain’t right. He claims he’s doing justice, but that’s just bullshit. We do more justice then he does anyday!”

“Justice?” Akira shook his head, “You call what we do justice? No. It’s not Justice. It’s trickery, and being vigilantes. It’s for working where the law has failed, but what we do isn’t justice.” He looked around at the group. “When Kamoshida faces the law, that is justice. What we’re doing? We’re phantom thieves. We’re working outside the law, to force situations to light. To make those that enforce justice realize what’s going on, so justice can be met.”

For some of us, the palaces could be called personal justice, sure. But what we are doing? It’s not justice. We’re trying to bring hope to the people who’ve been crushed, and had no one else to help them. Trying to help people who can’t get help any other way.”

“Well what the detective prince does sure as hell ain’t justice,” Ryuji spat.

Akira rose, resting his fists on the table and leaning forward. “Akechi Goro fought us, yes. But in the end he sacrificed himself for us, so we would live. He realized his quest for revenge wasn’t all that, and he asked us to change Shido’s heart. He gave up _everything,_ for us. All his years of planning, his years of hurting and being along. All his hopes and plans. He gave that all up so we could live, and complete the palace. So that we would have a chance.

I spent a few months in jail. As far as we know, he damn well died!” Akira scowled, hands clenching. “He was the one person we failed to save. Everyone else that we tried to save, we saved. We failed to help him. What if we’d realized what was happening sooner? What if we’d reached out sooner and shown him that there was hope?” He looked around. “Futaba was on the edge of suicide until we helped her. She wanted to die. You remember when we fought Akechi? He wanted to tear Shido down and destroy the man- and he fully expected to go down with the man. He was on a path to self-destruction.

Maybe if we’d tried to help him sooner, we could have helped him.”

Sojiro frowned, backing up a little and setting the tray of food down. He ran a hand over his face. “They know about Futaba…? Futaba is close to suicide…?” He frowned, confusion and worry filling his eyes. He tugged his phone out, texting Futaba and checking on her.

“He killed Haru’s father,” Ann protested.

“Not yet.” Akira shook his head, “Sure, he’s done a few kills again, already, but there are dozens of lives that haven’t ended yet. If we help him, maybe, just maybe we can prevent some of those deaths.” He sighed, sinking into his seat again. “I can’t see him die this time,” he said softly. “I just can’t.”

Morgana moaned, “I still don’t like him. He’s twisted, and there’s no way to help him.”

“There is always a way,” Akira snapped. He pinched his brow, taking a slow breath then releasing it. “Look. Every single one of us has something we needed help with. Things we managed to do last loop, because we spent time together and worked through our inner issues. Right?” He looked around at the group. “But none of us ever tried to help him.

Can we truly say we’re trying to help people, if we ignore someone that we know needs help? Someone that has nowhere to turn?” He looked around at the group, meeting their eyes. “I know you don’t trust him, and with good reason, but I refuse to give up on him.” He pursed his lips, then sighed. “We know what palaces we faced last time. I know there have to be others that we never saw. Maybe we can find other people that need help, too. Last time we were basically forced into each one we did. It was never a choice, more of a rescue mission. We have these persona for a reason. It’s not for fame, or power. It’s to show what we can do. Sure, some people would hurt others with this. We decide to go against society, and help those that need the help, right?”

“Right,” the others chorused.

Akira smirked, “That's what I thought.”


	15. Exploring Kichijoji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira rises early for a chance to spend Sunday, April 24th, with the detective prince.

Normally, Akira would have slept in until noon on Sunday. It was the one day he could get away with that sort of thing, without getting in trouble. Thankfully his friends had long ago realized they had to wait downstairs until he wandered down, finally awake for the day. This Sunday was different. Akira was awake and moving about by eight am, excited for the day. He packed a few things into his bag, and double checked his phone for any messages.

“Where are you going this early?” Morgana questioned.

“Out. I need to do a little shopping before heading over to Goro’s place.”

“You’re going over to Goro’s?!” Morgana hissed, displeased with that. He huffed as Akira gave him a look, ears drooping. “Fine, fine! Do it if you want to. But don’t come crying to me if he hurts you,” the feline scowled then vanished downstairs.

Akira sighed. “Honestly…” hopefully Morgana would come around, eventually. He checked everything again then headed downstairs. “Morning Boss.” He offered Sojiro a grin.

“You’re up mighty early,” Sojiro shifted his weight, “and actually awake at this hour. You have something going on this morning?”

“I do,” Akira smiled, “Going to have breakfast with Goro. He’s going to show me around Tokyo a bit. Not sure how late we’ll be out though…”

Sojiro sighed. “Honestly…” He rubbed the back of his neck then huffed and tugged a key out of his pocket. “Here. Don’t stay out too late, and make sure you lock up for the night when you get back. I don’t want to have to wait up for you to get back.”

Akira’s eyes lit up and he tucked the key away, “Thanks. Don’t worry- I won’t get into trouble.”

“You better not,” Sojiro grunted. “Now get going. I’m not going to hold you up.”

Akira bit back a grin and hurried out the door.

It was almost ten am when Goro heard a knock at his door. He glanced at the map on his desk, then decided against putting it back on the wall. He doubted Akira would be coming up here. Moving downstairs he went to the door, opening it. Pausing when he saw Akira carrying several bags of groceries. “Oh… you didn’t have to bring all this,” he took a few of the bags, carrying them inside. “Come on it.”

“Well, I didn’t know if you’d have everything we’d need.” Akira slipped out of his shoes then padded over to the kitchen, setting the bags down and starting to take things out. “I don’t mind. I made sure to get some extra stuff, so we can have a really nice breakfast.”

“Want me to help with anything?” Goro helped take the things out of the bags. Noting the ham slices, and all the fruit. So much fruit… looked amazing, really.

“You can clean the fruit and help cut it. Otherwise, I’ve got this,” Akira assured him.

“Alright.” Goro moved to the sink, starting to rinse off the different pieces of fruit and setting them to the side, while Akira got to work making the pancakes and cooking the ham.

“Have you been pretty busy this week?” Akira worked on mixing the batter.

“Busier than usual, honestly.” Goro sighed, “And it’s just going to get busier, I think.”

“Tough case?”

“Very.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“… maybe. But…” Goro shook his head, “I’ve already dragged a couple people into it. I’m not sure I want to get more people involved.”

Akira’s eyebrows lifted a touch, then he shrugged. “Even if all I do is listen to you vent, it would be something.” He smiled at Goro.

“Mmm…” Goro finished cutting the fruit into a bowl, then took a seat. Just watching Akira cook. He tilted his head slightly, watching as Akira poured some batter into a pan, putting the pancakes together. The ham sizzled as it cooked. Goro took a slow breath, breathing in the scent of cut fruit, cooking ham… and Akira. Akira… coffee was a strong scent there, a faint scent of blood, an air of dust and old books. Faint scent of leather, likely from his metaverse outfit. Those were leather gloves, weren’t they? Goro had never found out about that, as he always wore gloves himself.

Eyes followed Akira as his mind wandered, imagining the Phantom Thief decked out in his thief attire with that smug little smirk, or triumphant grin. The way he stood just practically screaming ‘bring it’ or ‘make me.’ Such a flare for the theatric.

Goro wouldn’t change a thing about it. It drove him nuts, but drew him in. It was just… captivating.

Goro jumped a little as a plate of food was put in front of him. A fruit salad with granola and Greek yogurt, nicely cooked ham and wonderful looking pancakes drizzled with maple syrup and dusted with sugar.

“Daydreaming?” Akira teased.

“A little.” Goro lifted a fork, spinning it between his fingers absently as Akira took a seat as well. “Thank you for this. It all looks fantastic.” He smiled at Akira, a true smile this time. This was such a simple thing, but it really did mean more than the other knew. He cut the pancake with his fork, then took a bite.

“Totally worth it.” Akira took a bite of his own food, a smirk curling his lips as he watched Goro dig in.

“Hmm?”

“Seeing you smile is worth getting early, and cooking.” Akira’s smirk grew as he watched the detective prince’s cheeks redden. “And that blush is adorable. I really need to figure out how to get you to do that more often.” He laughed as Goro ducked his head, the detective’s cheeks now a flaming red. He cooed, reaching over and cupping Goro’s cheek. “What, not used to compliments?” He teased, “I’ll have to be sure and do it more often.”

Goro scoffed, pushing Akira’s hand away. “Do you flirt with everyone like this?”

Akira smirked and took a strawberry, biting into it slowly, just smirking as he watched Goro. “Nope,” he made a pop sound on the ‘p’.

Goro chuckled and shook his head. “You’re horrible.”

“Oh, I know.” Akira grinned, relaxing as he continued his breakfast.

Once breakfast was cleaned up from, the two guys headed out. They caught the subway to Shibuya, then switched lines and made their way to Kichijoji.

“Wow… this place is huge,” Akira marveled.

“It is.” Goro looked around with a smile. “There’s a lot to see, too. Come on.” He nudged Akira then led the other guy forward. “They’ve even got a booth set up, where someone’s job is to describe the area to visitors.”

“Mmm… let’s skip that. I’d rather have you give the tour. I rather like the sound of your voice,” Akira purred.

Goro elbowed Akira lightly, just making the other guy laugh.

“R-right, anyway,” Goro cleared his throat, “Over here…” he led Akira down the main area, showing Akira several different shops. Including a stationary shop, and a vintage clothing store. One place actually purchased old clothing, and granted ‘points’ that could be exchanged for various items or a surprise pack of clothing. Akira took note of that place- he could sell off all the laundry he dragged back from the metaverse, instead of having to clean it all. That sounded fantastic to him. It would save him time and give him a better profit in the end. Or that’s how it felt, at least.

“Over here,” Goro tugged Akira to a dumpling store. “Half the time this place is sold out by the afternoon, or absolutely packed. I called ahead and asked him to save us some.” He offered the owner a smile and paid for their dumplings. He passed some to Akira, then ate his own happily, a happy sigh escaping as he enjoyed the flavor.

Akira chuckled and tapped Goro’s nose, smirking when the other guy pulled back a little. “It’s cute, seeing you so happy about food.”

“I spend a lot of time in higher end places, to try and meet with higher ups, and ensure my name carries weight,” Goro ate another dumpling. “Most of those places, the food is rather bland, or very tiny servings.”

“I know. I’ve seen your blog. Never seen LeBlanc on it though,” Akira mused.

“I’d rather keep that gem private,” Goro ate his last dumpling, then threw his trash away. Cheeks warming when Akira chuckled. “What?”

“You really like LeBlanc that much?”

“Mmm… it’s peaceful. One of the few places I can escape to, and not worry about fans spotting me and trying to swarm.”

“And I’m there,” Akira joked.

“That takes away from the charm.”

Akira pouted a little. “Aww… I know your joking.”

Goro gave him a blank look, just watching as Akira’s pout grew a bit before snickering. “You’re the cute one, not me.” He elbowed Akira, then led him onwards. “There’s a temple down here. It’s peaceful, a good place to meditate and think. Just escape all the madness of the city and society for a sort time.”

“Looks really nice.”

“It is.”

“What’s that place?” Akira pointed out another store, moving to it.

“This place has a lot of foreign foods. A few American dishes, among other things. One of the few places you can get curry ketchup. If you’re into that.”

“Maybe I’ll check it out sometime.”

“It’s a good place to try.” Goro shrugged, then continued showing Akira around. He stopped in one small shop, purchasing a couple kit-kats and passing one to Akira. “Green tea flavor. My second favorite one.”

“What’s your favorite?”

“… strawberry cheesecake.”

Akira grinned, “Something sweet. That’s no surprise.”

Goro rolled his eyes and continued showing Akira around. He showed Akira where the liquor stall was. “If you’re ever bored, the gossip here can be amusing.” He showed Akira some store called Stoneon as well before leading him towards a large building called Penguin Sniper.

“Hey, is that a glasses shop?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah it is.”

“Let’s stop in.”

“… okay…? Do you need new frames?”

Akira smirked, “Not for me. Come on.” He tugged Goro over to the store.

“H-hey, what are you-“

“Come on, let’s find a couple pair that suit you,” Akira encouraged. He picked up a pair, trying it on Goro.

“Why on earth would I wear glasses? I don’t need them.”

“I don’t need mine either, but they’re fun.” Akira tried a different pair on Goro. “If the fans are a problem, put on some glasses. It would mess with their heads.”

“I don’t think they’re _that_ stupid,” Goro protested.

Akira snorted.

Goro sighed. “… point taken…”

Akira purchased another pair for himself and a glasses case, while Goro ended up with two pairs, as well as two glasses cases if only to humor Akira. The guy wouldn’t leave the store until Goro got at least one. Then it was on to Penguin Sniper.

“Darts first or billiards?” Akira glanced at Goro.

“Let’s play billiards first,” Goro decided. He paid for the two of them, then moved over to a table with Akira.

“You paid this time, you can go first.” Akira offered.

“Thanks.” Goro smiled, leaning forward, taking a moment to aim before striking. The cue ball rolled forward, striking the others. Making the balls split apart. He smiled as he got a good break, and continued his turn. Sinking one after another into the pockets. He paused as the last ball went in, “Ah! Apologies, I must have had a lucky turn.” He offered Akira a sheepish smile, “Let’s play another round. You didn’t even get a turn this one.”

“You’re good,” Akira praised.

“I’ve practiced.” Goro shrugged.

The two of them played another round, the game much closer this time- though Goro still won.

“You played that second game right-handed,” Akira accused.

“Ah… I wasn’t sure if you’d noticed,” Goro chuckled, “I wanted to give myself a disadvantage, make the game a bit more even. Tell you what, once you can beat me a few times, I’ll play a round with my left.”

“Deal.” Akira held out his hand.

Goro shook on it.

Three games later, the two moved on to play darts instead. Goro’s stance was a bit stiff as he aimed at the target, though his throw was true. Hitting the bullseye three times in a row.

Akira whistled, “You’re good.”

Goro smirked, “Well, of course I am.”

“I’ll need to practice.” Akira smiled, taking his turn.

Akira and Goro were both smiling as they left Penguin Sniper that afternoon. They moved to a nearby diner to get some supper, sitting at one of the outside tables and chatting away. Until someone recognized Goro. Goro sighed, shoulders sagging a little. “I’m surprised we went this long without someone recognizing us. Maybe we should head back…”

“Time for the glasses,” Akira teased.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Akira smirked and tugged Goro to his feet, bringing him inside. “Just stand still.” He reached up, his fingers brushing through Goro’s hair. Goro had to bite his lips hard as he felt Akira tug his hair lightly.

“W-what…?”

Akira smirked, ruffling Goro’s hair and teasing it up, making it look a bit wilder and messier. Then he tugged the glasses case out of Goro’s pocket, opening it and taking the glasses out. He slipped the glasses onto Goro’s face, pushing them up with one finger then closing the glasses case with a snap. “There we go,” he purred. He winked at Goro and tugged the other back to their table, watching as the detective prince sank into his seat. “It’s a good look for you.”

“It’s… it’s an okay disguise,” Goro huffed, eyes locked on the menu.

“Effective.”

“Yes. It’s… certainly effective.” Goro glanced up briefly as he heard some of the fans debating, deciding there was no way that he was the detective prince. “Maybe you should dress up as me sometime. We’re about the same height.” He rested his hand on his chin, studying Akira. “I’d have to pick out the clothes, perhaps have something tailored for you, but I think you could pull it off.”

“Oooh, sounds fun. Not sure if you’d be able to tame my hair though,” Akira joked.

“I’m sure we could manage it,” Goro assured him, head tilting to the side as he studied the other. “Maybe some contacts to change the color of your eyes slightly too…”

“Mmm… if we’re going to play dressup, I get to pick an outfit for you, too.”

Goro’s eyebrows lifted. “Do you have something in mind?”

“Yes.”

“… and…?”

“And I’m keeping it a surprise.”

“Of course you are.” Goro shook his head, though he was smiling. “Deal then.”

Akira grinned, perking up a bit. “Great! It’ll be fun.”

“Why am I already dreading whatever you have planned?” Goro groaned as Akira smirked. “That smirk is not helping.”

Akira’s smirk just grew even bigger. “We’ll have fun with it.” He reached over, ruffling Goro’s hair, jerking his hand back with a laugh when Goro swatted at him.

After dinner, the two of them paid for their meal, then wandered the streets for a bit. Chatting back and forth. Akira told Goro a bit more about his hometown. Different people there, how they’re reacted when he was arrested. How a few had been encouraging. Like the old piano teacher that lived down the street. Others had drank in the gossip eagerly, like coyotes going after a wounded deer.

Goro listened thoughtfully, commenting here and there, asking a few questions. About the lawyer that defended Akira, about who the prosecutor was. Who the reporting officers were, and so on. He didn’t press on the things Akira didn’t answer, though he took note of all the details the other could give.

As the sun started to set, Goro led Akira into the Jazz Jin Bar. He greeted the owner and took a table, ordering a special of the night and relaxing, sipping on the non-alcoholic beverage once it came. Music filled the air as someone performed on the stage. A soft sigh escaped as Goro closed his eyes for a moment, just drinking in the moment.

“The people here seem to see you as a regular,” Akira observed, voice soft.

“I am.”

“Another place not on your blog.”

Another gem.” Goro’s eyes blinked open, brow furrowing when he saw the way Akira was studying him. “What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Akira chuckled and sipped at his own drink then leaned forward. “Goro. What would you say your biggest regret is?”

“Oh, so moving to the tough questions are we?”

“I’m serious. Your biggest regret. I’ll share mine, if you share yours.”

“And here I thought I was the detective.”

“I’m curious.”

Goro sighed, “Of course you are.” His eyes moved to his drink, watching the liquid move as he tilted his glass side to side. “Maybe another time, hmm? It’s not something I’m ready to share.”

“But you’ll share it?”

“Eventually.”

Akira nodded, “As long as you do, eventually.” He offered Goro a smile, then leaned back in his seat.

“So…” Goro’s voice trailed off a moment. “You said you were going to check out that palace again? With your friend at school?”

“I did,” Akira frowned, “It’s… it’s intense. Disgusting. Perverted.” He sighed, “We’re going in again tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll be the last time.”

“Last time?” Goro’s eyebrows lifted a touch. “What do you mean?”

Akira hesitated, then sighed. “Evidently the ruler has a treasure, or some sort. If we make him go back to himself, and take the treasure, that’ll make the palace collapse. We… think.”

“You think, hmm?” Goro tapped his fingers on the table. “And just how are you planning on escaping the place, without getting trapped by the collapse?”

“We plan to run?”

“Why does that sound like a question? Run. Out of a collapsing building. I thought you were smarter than that,” he scoffed. “There is never only one way into a building. Never only one way in or out of a room. Either there are ways to knock down a wall to expose easy escape, or there’s a way through a window, and rappelling down. Or something entirely unexpected.”

“Sounds like you have experience with this.” Akira sipped his drink.

“I have handled a few theft cases,” Goro sighed. “The thieves that only have a single plan to get in and out? They are the ones that get caught. The ones that plan out more details. Dozens of ideas on how to get in and get out. Those are the ones that give the police the slip. For example. Trying to enter, say… a museum. There are openings on the roof, there are ladders to get to the roof. There’s a back door, fire exits, a front door. And windows. There are many windows that could be broken to exit through. Or even just cause a distraction. Break the window, trigger alarm. Guards flock to broken window, slip out another way. Disguises, changing disguises, smoke bombs, triggering fire alarms. Elevators. There are many things that can be done. In the case of a collapsing building, the window is a possibility. Some long rope, or even something as simple as bouldering supplies-“

“Bouldering?”

“Rock climbing, but without a harness or protective gear,” Goro sighed. “A hobby of mine. Shoes with a thin rubber sole are ideal, to give a better feel of whatever it is your climbing as well as providing grip. Chalk to keep your hands from getting sweaty- unless you’re wearing gloves. Athletic tape for the wrists, for extra protection and stability.”

Akira chuckled, “sounds like you know how to do this sort of thing. Honestly, I wish you were going in with us.”

“I think I’d feel out of place.” Goro shook his head.

“What? Why?” Akira frowned.

“I just… do.” Goro shook his head. “It’s not because of you,” he assured Akira. “I just don’t know who else is going in with you. If this is your last day in there, it’s better to be in a group where everyone trusts each other.” He offered Akira a smile, “who knows, maybe you’ll find another one of those places and we can explore it together? Though not sure what help I’d be.”

“I’m sure you’d be a huge help,” Akira assured him.

“Most people seem to think I’m either in the way, or trying to get glory for things,” Goro’s eyes were on his glass again as he frowned, then shook his head. “But enough of that, hmm? Let’s not end the evening on a sour note.” He downed the last of his drink and relaxed. “What are some of your hobbies?”

“My hobbies?” Akira smiled, “Well, I love dancing. Some good music, a song to dance to. That’s just fun. Dancing with some friends makes it even better. Back home I did acrobatics. Though not so sure I want to do that here in Tokyo.”

“Worried someone might recognize you?”

“That, and just bad memories.”

“Mmm…” Goro nodded in understanding. “Well, what about favorite movies?” He smiled when Akira lit up at the question, the other guy starting to talk.

The rest of the evening went well. They stayed out a while longer before taking one of the last subways back home. They came to a stop in front of Goro’s place, first. “Sleep well, Goro.” Akira offered him a smile.

“You too,” Goro nodded to him.

“Maybe we can hang out again next Sunday?”

“Maybe. I’ll contact you if I have some free time, alright?”

Akira smiled, “Sounds good.” He turned to go.

“Akira.”

“Yeah?”

“Whatever you do tomorrow, come back safe.”

“What, worried about me?” Akira teased.

“You’re a friend. I don’t want to lose you,” Goro said softly.

Akira stepped closer and leaned close. He pressed his lips against Goro’s lips, kissing lightly at first, then deepening the kiss. Holding it a moment then breaking it with a smirk. “You know, I’d like to be more then just a friend.” He brushed a finger over Goro’s jaw.

Goro shivered, “I…” he swallowed hard, then tried to look away. Though Akira’s grip kept him from turning his head. “Damn it Akira,” he growled. “How do you do this to me? I want…” he shook his head, pulling away. “I want more too,” he admitted. “But sometimes more isn’t possible.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

 _“What’s_ complicated? What’s holding you back?”

Goro grit his teeth, then shook his head. “Chains. I… I wish I could explain more but I can’t. Not now.” A sigh escaped, “let’s just say… I’m working on it.” He rolled his eyes when he saw the look Akira gave him. “Focus on your little job tomorrow,” he grunted. “Make sure to come back safe.”

“I will.”

“… good. Goodnight, Akira.” Goro offered the other a brief television smile before moving into his home. He closed the door, locking it behind hm before sinking to the floor, holding his head in his hands. “D-damn it all…” he wanted more. He wanted more with Akira.

But if he went after more… would that just put Akira in danger?

He didn’t know what to do.

Akira sighed as he saw Goro go inside. He shook his head and moved to the café, greeting Morgana cheerfully then moving inside, and upstairs. “Have fun tailing Goro and I today?”

“What? How did you…!” Morgana pouted, “you’re crushing on him soooo hard.”

“Yeah, and he seems to return the feeling.”

“He’s denying it.”

“He is,” Akira agreed. “I don’t know why though. I need to spend more time with him. If he trusts me more, maybe he’ll tell me why…”

Morgana sighed. “You know the others won’t like this. Especially Haru and Futaba.”

“They’ll come around.” Akira lifted Morgana, despite the feline’s protests. He pet the cat until the feline was purring loudly, then set Morgana down once more.

Once he was in bed he looked up at the window, a soft sigh escaping. “Sleep well, Goro. Sleep well.”


	16. Last Dive Into Kamoshida's Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Monday, April 25th. Time to take out Kamoshida's palace... again.

Monday morning the school was all buzzing as students gathered around the different bulletin boards. Trying to see the notice that had been posted on the board.

“It’s about Kamoshida!”

“Some sort of calling card?”

It’s claiming Kamoshida is forcing students do so something…”

“That can’t be true, can it?”

“It’s saying he’s lustful. Does that mean…?”

“He is going to be so pissed.”

“Who did this?!?” Kamoshida stomped up to the board, bristling as he read the calling card. This time, Akira and Ryuji were nowhere near the board, both of them already in their classrooms. Ann was keeping an eye on things instead, not wanting any of them to get picked out. She pursed her lips as she watched the man push a few students around. Kamoshida even grabbed Mishima by the collar, shoving the boy against the wall, glaring at him. “Did you do this?!”

“N-no sir,” Mishima mumbled, eyes locked on the floor.

Kamoshida growled, dropping the boy and glaring at all the nearby students. He turned with a scowl and stomped off towards the principle’s office, questioning any unfortunate student he got near, on the way.

Mishima sank to the floor, gripping his hair a moment before rising. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, eyes on the floor as he shuffled to his classroom.

Ann pursed her lips, then texted the others.

**Ann:** He saw it. That part’s done.

 **Ryuji:** Good!

 **Akira:** Today’s the day. Meet at the usual spot, after school.

 **Ann:** Right

 **Ryuji:** Got it.

Akira tucked his phone away, turning his attention back to class.

The journey into the palace, after school, was a simple enough one. Akira, Morgana, Ann and Ryuji met outside the school, moving into the nearby alleyway. Ann checked to make sure no one was nearby before Akira hit the app, the four of them entering the metaverse. “Looks like everything’s on high alert,” Joker noted.

“Just like last time,” Mona reminded them.

“Yeah, just like last time.” Joker cracked his knuckles then smirked at the others. “Ready to take this guy down?”

“Hell yeah,” Skull grinned. “Totally ready.”

“Time to take that creep down,” Panther huffed. “I’m so ready for this.”

Mona nodded in agreement. “Right. Let’s do-“ he paused, frowning as he spotted a form watching them from a window. “H-hey, who’s that?” He pointed his paw.

The other three phantom thieves looked, but the form vanished before they got a good look at it.

“Bet you it was Akechi,” Skull spat.

“No way, he doesn’t even know about this one,” Panther shook her head. “Maybe someone else…?”

“Who?” Mona scowled.

“Hey,” Joker called for their attention. “We don’t know who that person is, but right now we’ve got a clear objective in mind. Whomever it is, they’ll have to leave when we do- we should be able to catch them when they do.”

“Ooooh, right. ‘Cause they’d be coming out the same place,” Skull realized. “Heh… that’s great. We’ll get em then. Come on, let’s go kick some ass.” He grinned, eager for this.

Joker chuckled and used the app, taking them to the last safe room. Once there, he had everyone double check to ensure they all had a supply of items on hand. He split those up evenly so they would all have healing and attack items on hand, in case they were needed. That way he wouldn’t be the only one able to use items. Once he was satisfied everyone had what they’d need, they made their way out of the safe room. Heading towards the treasure room. Just like last time, the room was strangely quiet. Almost eerie in some ways. Joker wasn’t a fan.

He turned his head slightly when he thought he spotted something on the balcony. He paused and turned, frowning as he looked.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

His mind was playing tricks on him. It had to be. He knew he had told Goro about this place, but the guy didn’t know the key words. Did he? Goro knew they were coming in here today, but there was no way the detective prince would try to ambush them here, now. There was no way the detective was that desperate, this early in the loop. Not with the way he’d been acting when they hung out. He wasn’t gone, yet.

“Treasure!” Mona cheered as they saw the giant crown floating there. He bounced forward, purring like a feline on catnip as he pounced, hugging the crown. He pouted when Panther scooped him up. “H-hey!”

Joker chuckled, “Come on, let’s carry this thing out. Just be ready… we already know Kamoshida is going to show up.”

“Ass,” Panther grumbled. She sighed and helped lift the crown, moving out of the room and down the stairs with Skull and Joker. It didn’t surprise any of them when the crown was knocked out of their hands, and Kamoshida claimed it again. The shadow smirking.

“Yeah yeah, skip the monolog,” Skull groaned. He huffed when Panther and Joker looked at him. “What?”

“You used a big word,” Mona chirped.

“Come on,” Skull groaned, his shoulders falling. “I ain’t stupid.”

Kamoshida glared at them, “I am king here, and I’m not just letting you walk away with what is mine! Don’t think-“

“Oh shut it,” Panther growled, stepping forward, glaring at Kamoshida. “You’re nothing but a washed up volleyball player. An ex Olympian who tries to make himself feel powerful by shoving around teenagers. People who can’t fight back. You’re a coward, taking advantage of the weak because you don’t want to admit how pathetic you are.”

“How dare you!” Kamoshida’s face turned bright red as his glare intensified, “How dare you, how dare you, how dare you!” He cried out, gripping his head a moment before transforming into his monstrous form.

Joker smirked. “Everyone, you know the plan.”

The group spread out, Panther staying near Joker in the front, Mona darting to one side and Ryuji to the other, making it harder for the great shadow to target any one of them without having to turn. Also making it easier for them to strike. They focused on the goblet first, not even trying to attack Kamoshida himself, right off. They already knew he could heal himself, so what was the point?

“Nooo! How dare you, my trophy!” Kamoshida wailed as that was destroyed.

“Serves ya right,” Skull scoffed.

Kamoshida snarled and swiped at Mona, and Skull, forcing them back to where Panther and Joker were. “Slave! Get over here!”

A battered cognitive version of Mishima made his way over, a chain snapped around one ankle, slithering after him as he stumbled over to his ‘king’. He tossed a volleyball up then set it for Kamoshida. It was too low though, and Kamoshida wasn’t able to strike it full power. “Worthless! Worthless worthless worthless!” He sputtered, throwing a volleyball at the cognition, the cognition collapsing to the side then fading out of view. “Shiho!”

A version of Shiho came out next, with a giggle. Dressed in a bunny outfit.

Panther swallowed hard, “Shiho?!”

“It’s just a cognition,” Mona reminded her. “She’s going to help him with an attack. We have to knock her out. Then do what we did last time.”

“Last time?” Panther frowned, then her eyes widened. “Oh right, that!” She nodded then sighed. “Sorry Shiho…” she lifted her gun, opening fire on the bunny-girl cognition. Only 3 out of 10 actually hit, but it was enough to down the cognition and make it vanish.

“We really need to work on our accuracy,” Joker sighed, giving Panther an innocent smile when she shot a glare at him.

Then the focus was back on Kamoshida. Dodging as best as they could when he attacked, countering with their own attacks. After they got a little damage on the shadow, enough that he was focused on them, Mona was sent to try and steal the crown.

Funny, how some strategies just work so well.

The battle was over swiftly, once the crown was knocked off the king’s head. Like last time, the shadow scrambled to recover the crown, grabbing it then fleeing to the window, scrambling to find a way to escape.

“It’s over,” Panther said firmly. “Give it up.”

“N-no!” Kamoshida wailed. He cried out as he was fired at, sinking to his knees and starting to sob. He whined and pleaded, then started sobbing harder. The crown dropping from his grip and rolling away.

Panther picked it up, glancing at it in disgust then looking at the shadow. “You need to-“ she yelped as a bullet hit the floor in front of her. She jumped back, eyes wide as she looked around for the shooter.

“Up there!” Mona pointed to a man in a black mask.

“Dude, is that Akechi?!” Skull snarled, glaring at the man.

“Oh pu-leaase, don’t mistake me for that _child,_ ” the man scoffed. He stood on the balcony railing; his gun trained on Joker.

“Then who are you?” Joker questioned, “why are you here?”

“Oh, just wondering what the self-righteous brats are up to.” The man smirked, “I’ve been experimenting on things. Testing theories, seeing just what would and would not work. Seeing if I can make shadows stronger, or weaker. Among other things. Fun work, honestly. It’s funny, how you think you’re doing something right. Stealing the treasure and all that. What are you doing, really? Is that any better than brainwashing someone?”

“Hey!” Mona stepped forward, jumping back when the man fired, bullet striking just in front of where the feline had been. “It’s not brainwashing, we’re making them confess!”

“You’re forcing them.” The man shrugged, “But you didn’t force everyone last time, did you? With your little bratty hacker, you let her accept her shadow, and she took her own treasure. With that prosecutor, you left the treasure with her, let her accept herself. Those two didn’t end up in the prison at the bottom of mementos, now did they? While the rest did.”

“How do you know that?” Ryuji sputtered.

The man smirked, “Ever consider that?” His gun moved to focus on Kamoshida’s shadow. “Simple really. I kill shadows. It’s fun~. Your little detective annoyance, he removes their inhibitions. Makes them act on their emotions. With society as it is, usually that’s bad emotions. You? You take away a part of them, and make them feel guilt.

Who’s the more just? The more merciful? At least with me it’s quick, and with the detective they’re still themselves, just less restricted. You?” He snickered, “You fuckin brainwash them.”

“We do no such thing,” Panther insisted. “we just make them take responsibility!”

“Is that what you call it?” He aimed his gun at Joker now. “You’re a bunch of damn kids. You’re only seeing the small picture. Things are a lot more complicated then you realize, brats. This is far more then just a simple game~. Right now? Right now the game’s multiple rounds in for the main players. You’re just one small part of a far bigger game.” He smirked at Joker, “You’re a rook on the 3-d chessboard, and you think you’re playing checkers. Far more going on then you know. If I take you out, it’ll cripple your team. I wonder how that would change things up. So far, your team has won each round.”

“What the hell are you talking about man?” Skull groaned

The man’s gun shifted to Skull. “Maybe I should get rid of the vulgar brat first.”

“The effin hell?!?” Skull glared at the stranger.

“I mean exactly what I’m saying. This gun isn’t fake, either.” The man chuckled, his smirk growing.

Someone grabbed the man’s arm, twisting it and firing the gun, bullet slamming into a nearby wall before a first connected with the black mask’s stomach, making the guy double over for a moment. “Get the shadow to accept himself, and get out of here you idiots!”

The black mask tried to stamp down on the other man’s foot, just missing. The gun fired again as the two forms struggled over the gun, a bullet grazing the newcomers shoulder.

Panther frowned then turned her attention to Kamoshida. “We could just kill you here,” she snapped. “But we’re not going to. Killing you here would bring no closure to all the people you hurt. You need to confess what you’ve done- fully confess. Turn yourself in for it.”

“I…” Kamoshida’s shadow swallowed hard before bowing, his shoulder’s falling. “Your right. You’re right… I am a horrible, horrible man…” a sob caught in his throat before he slowly faded from view, accepting himself.

“Damn it you brat!” The black masked user twisted, shoving the other. The newcomer toppled over the railing but caught his hand on it. As the black masked man looked over the railing and aimed his gun the building started to shake. “The hell?!”

The newcomer swung up, kicking the black masked user hard in the arm, forcing the guy to drop his gun. He scooped the weapon up and fired, hitting the man once in the shoulder, a second time in the arm. “Use the escape item to get out of here fast,” he ordered Joker and the others. “Have you seriously never thought of that?”

“We can’t just leave you,” Joker protested.

“I said go damn it!” The newcomer swore as the blackmask man fled through the window. He followed.

“Escape item?” Panther questioned.

Mona flopped on the floor, hitting his head against it. “The goho-m. Why didn’t we think of that?” He yelped as a piece of the ceiling came down, almost landing on top of him.

“Oh… oh! Oh shit,” Skull dug into his stuff, finding a handful of those. He used one, the four phantom thieves finding themselves at the palace entrance a moment later. Turning, they fled from the collapsing building and out of the metaverse.

They were all panting when they reached the alley. Ryuji started to speak but Akira lifted his hand. “Tomorrow,” he said firmly. “We’re all spent, and a bit shocked. Let’s meet up at LeBlanc tomorrow, and talk things over then. Once we’ve all had time to think about what happened and time to rest.”

Ryuji sighed, “Fine, fine… tomorrow…” he huffed, scuffing his food.

“Tomorrow,” Ann agreed softly. “I… was that…?” She frowned then shook her head. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She scratched behind Morgana’s ears then turned, heading off.

Ryuji huffed then started walking towards the subway. He frowned when he realized Akira wasn’t with him. “Come on man.”

“Just go ahead,” Akira shifted his weight. “I want to stay here a couple minutes.”

“Dude, why?”

Morgana sighed, “You want to see if those others two come out here, right…?” He tilted his head, looking up at Akira. “I doubt they’re going to come out the same place we did. Come on, you look tired. You can always text Goro,” he encouraged.

“Right… that’s right,” Akira agreed. He sighed and followed after Ryuji.

Goro relaxed a bit as he leaned against the wall. He peaked around the corner after a moment, watching as Akira, Ryuji and the feline made their way away. He sighed, then headed in the opposite direction, calling a taxi.

He rolled his eyes when Maruki was the taxi driver who showed up. “Do you wait for me to call a taxi?” He complained.

The man just chuckled, “No, but I was in the area. Get in- where am I taking you?”

“The clinic.”

“What happened this time?”

Goro got into the back seat. He removed his jacket and tugged a handkerchief out, using that to put pressure on his shoulder where the bullet had grazed him, in the metaverse. That bullet had been real, alright. Not just some cognition. “Ran into a jackass. Lots of those around.”

Maruki chuckled and looked ahead, pulling away from the school.

Later that evening Goro tugged his phone out, looking at the texts for the first time all day. He sighed, spotting two from Shido, and almost twelve from Akira.

**Goro:** Sorry about not answering earlier. It’s been a long day for me. Yes, I’m fine. How did your little ‘final trip’ go today?

 **Akira:** Glad to hear you’re fine. The trip went… went well. Surprising, but well.

 **Goro:** Surprising?

 **Akira:** Yeah. We ran into two others in there. Didn’t recognize either of them. One of them was a total nut case.

 **Goro:** Really?

 **Akira:** He pointed a gun at us and everything. Was talking about getting rid of us.

 **Goro:** … I need your measurements and the measurements for your team.

 **Akira:**? Why?

 **Goro:** Because I have a feeling you’re too stubborn to leave that place alone. I’m getting you bullet proof vests. It won’t stop a shot to your head or limbs, but will at least protect most of your vitals. I’ll feel better if you have some protection. Might take a week or so to get them, but I’m getting them.

 **Akira:** Those are expensive.

 **Goro:** Not as expensive as a funeral, and I’d rather not have to attend yours anytime soon.

 **Akira:** Aww… thanks cutie. But you need to know, if this is your attempt at flirting, you need more practice.

 **Goro:** … you’re horrible, you know that?

 **Akira:** So you keep saying.

 **Goro:** Get some sleep Akira. I’m sure you’re exhausted.

 **Akira:** Yes mother.

 **Goro:** Do I need to come over and _make_ you go to bed?

 **Akira:** Oooh, I’d like that.

 **Goro:** … goodnight.

 **Akira:** night cutie.

Akira grinned as he set his phone down for the night. He was still worried about Goro and wanted to check on the guy, but he seemed to be doing alright.

Hopefully… hopefully things would go from alright, to good. Even great.


	17. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team reviews what happened the day before, and try to make plans for moving forward.

Just like every weekday when school was in, Akira stumbled downstairs in the early morning, downed a mug of coffee and ate some breakfast. A second coffee was finished before he was out the door and on the way to the subway. He was finally coming to all the way when Ryuji shuffled over, the blonde yawning loudly then sighing.

“Dude… just what the hell happened yesterday? That second guy that came in was-” he shut up when he saw the look Akira gave him.

Akira nodded slightly then tugged his phone out, texting.

**Akira:** We need to be more careful. We have no idea who that first person was. Now on, palace runs are jobs, mementos runs are part-time jobs.

**Ann:** Think of it like a secret code, Ryuji.

**Ryuji:** What the heck are you picking on me for?

**Akira:** … who’s loud mouth gave us away to Makoto last time?

**Ryuji:** Yeah yeah. Alright, so code names in metaverse, we need code stuff in the real world too. Guess that makes sense. Jobs and part time jobs. Sure, sounds like stuff we’d talk about. We should give our targets code names too. Like… next one would be the Old Guy, then after that the Piggy.

**Ann:** Maybe you shouldn’t try to come up with code names Ryuji.

**Akira:** Morgana agrees.

Akira smirked as Ann and Ryuji bickered back and forth some. He chuckled, making his way to school with Ryuji. It was no surprise when his homeroom teacher informed them that Kamoshida was taking some days off from work for some reason or another. Good news to both of them.

The day continued on as normal, until they all went to the roof at lunch time. Ann smiled as she got a text from Shiho. Shiho had been released from the hospital and was home again. She’d have to go in for a lot of counseling and some rehab, but she was actually doing okay. Ann was crying as she read the texts, just happy that Shiho was awake and aware of things instead of how she’d been last loop. “I… I’m going to go visit her tomorrow, I think,” she decided, looking up at the others.

“That’s fine,” Akira assured her. “We know you’re worried about her.”

Ann sniffled and looked at her phone again. “Oh… huh, listen to th-“

“Dude, Akechi’s a dick,” Ryuji sputtered, glaring at his phone as he sat up. “It’s live on the news man. One of the subway driver’s just went nuts- it’s another mental shutdown.” He turned his phone, showing them the video of the subway crashing. “He’s damn well pl-“

“He didn’t do it.” Ann huffed.

“Of course he did, we know he’s the one doing these!” Ryuji insisted.

Ann glared at Ryuji, “He’s been at Shiho’s house for the past two hours, and is still there. So he can’t be the one that caused that crash. That’s what I was just telling you, before you interrupted me!”

“That’s impossible, this crash is happening now, damn it.” Ryuji scowled.

“… maybe the guy with the black mask caused the crash,” Morgana pointed out. “This one at least. We have no way of knowing just how many were because of Akechi, and how many of them were done because of that other guy.” The feline looked around at the group. “It’s something we never knew about last loop. We need to find out who that man is, somehow.”

“Agreed.” Akira nodded, “We meet up at LeBlanc tonight and talk over some of the stuff that’s happened. We go over what happened yesterday on the job, too.”

Ryuji sighed, “I still think that Akechi is a- owe! Ann, why’d you hit me?” He scowled at her.

“Stop being an airhead.” Ann huffed. “We talk later.”

Morgana snickered. “Airhead…”

Akira chuckled. “We’ll talk tonight,” he assured them. He rose as the bell rang and headed back to class.

The rest of the day passed quickly. The four of them were making their way to LeBlanc when they saw Sae and Akechi standing to the side, the two seeming to be arguing about something. Morgana jumped down and darted over to listen in, only to return a moment later, pouting. “They saw me and stopped talking,” he complained. “Who stops talking just because a cat shows up?”

“Maybe they were done talking anyway?” Ann offered.

“Maybe.” Akira smiled and gave Goro a wave as he saw Sae leaving.

“Ah, good afternoon.” Goro moved over, offering them a smile. His smile just grew a bit as he noted Ryuji’s glare at him. As if not phased by it at all. “How are you doing today, Akira?”

“Doing well,” Akira smiled, “Staying busy?”

“Very,” Goro nodded, “there’s quite the investigation going on right now, it’s keeping my busier than usual,” his eyes landed on Morgana. “Is that your cat?”

“I am not anyone’s cat!” Morgana meowed.

“He is,” Akira smiled.

“No I’m not,” Morgana meowed again.

“A vocal one,” Goro reached over, scratching behind Morgana’s ears then rubbing under the feline’s chin, smirking as the feline started to purr loudly. “You know, you could get him registered as a therapy cat.”

“I’m not a cat!” Morgana meowed again.

“As a therapy cat, you’d be able to take him anywhere you want, without getting in trouble if you’re caught with him.” Goro added. “A subway pass for the feline would be part of getting him registered. He wouldn’t have to be stuck in your bag all the time that way.”

“That’s a good idea,” Akira admitted. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He chuckled when Morgana meowed in his ear. “So, want to join us for some coffee?”

“Not right now,” Goro shook his head, “I’ve some things I need to tend to. A couple case files to review, and homework.” He smiled, “maybe another time.”

“Of course.” Akira nodded.

Goro offered Akira a smile. He nodded slightly to the other three then turned, heading to his house.

Ryuji scowled, then grumbled under his breath as they made their way into the café. Once they were all inside, and upstairs, Ryuji sank onto the couch. “The hell Akira? Why are you acting like he’s your friend?”

“Because he is.” Akira set his bag down, then took a seat. “Alright, let’s go over what happened on the job yesterday.”

Morgana jumped up onto the table. “Ryuji used a big word.”

Ryuji groaned, “Why you gotta focus on that? Seriously…”

Ann took a seat as well. “We saw that form when we first got there. I think it was too big to be Akechi… so likely that black mask user.”

“We’ve heard of the black mask before, but we always thought it was Akechi,” Morgana sighed.

“But Akechi’s mask is crimson. Almost black, but not quite,” Akira pointed out. “We just assumed it was him. With what we learned yesterday though… there’s a good chance a lot of what we blamed him for, was the other man.”

“Not all of it though. I’m sure he still did some kills. That black mask did say that Akechi removed their inhibitions,” Morgana pointed out.

“Whatever that means,” Ryuji huffed. “I wish there was a solid way to know just what he’s done. Hey, Morgana! Sneak into his house or something.”

“What? Why me?” Morgana’s fur puffed up. “Akira an do it.”

“No.” Akira shook his head. “I’m not doing that to him. I want him to open up to me. Trying to sneak around like that would just put him on guard, make him close off. I don’t want that.” He sighed. “Back to yesterday…”

“The black mask user said we were brainwashing people,” Ann frowned, “We… we aren’t though. Right?”

“No, we aren’t,” Morgana huffed. “We’re just taking their shitty desires.”

“He had a point though,” Akira shook his head, “Futaba and Sae ended up better off then anyone else we faced the palace of- and we didn’t take their treasure, we returned it to them.

Maybe the key is not taking the treasure for ourselves? But in exposing it and taking it, then giving it back. Forcing them to accept that part of themselves… accept responsibility, instead of losing who they are.” He rubbed his chin. “We are phantom thieves. We make a big deal, we show class, we force the truth to light- but we aren’t taking something for our own gain, we’re doing this to expose the truth. We need to keep that in mind.”

“We’ll… have to talk to the others about it,” Ann sighed, “I wonder what the others would think of all this? I wish we had our full team back, not just us four.”

“We’ll get them back,” Morgana assured her.

“Sooner the better,” Ryuji huffed.

Akira nodded in agreement. “The sooner, the better.” He looked around at the group. “I know you still don’t trust Akechi but he did save us yesterday. I don’t know how strong that black mask user is, but it’s obvious he’s aware of what happened last loop. He just felt really strong- and as he said, he was using a real gun, not a fake one. A wound from that likely wouldn’t just heal, when we left the metaverse.”

“Do you think Akechi remembers? That he knows this is a loop?” Ann questioned.

“I don’t know.” Akira sighed, “He’s hard to read. When I talk to him, the way he talks makes me think he doesn’t remember yet. He didn’t use our code names yesterday and he would have known them if he remembered.”

“… he called us idiots,” Ryuji grumbled.

“Well, it was pretty stupid that we just tried to run out of the palace when we could have used that item,” Ann pointed out. “We do a ton of stuff right, but there are some points where we could be called idiots…”

Akira nodded, “There’s room for improvement. Right now, we need to focus on that. We need to get our team back together, and we need to grow stronger. There’s a big chance we’ll be running into that black mask user again. We need to be ready for that.”

“Right.” Ann nodded in agreement, then sighed. “Well, tomorrow I’m going to see Shiho. What about you guys?”

Ryuji sighed, “Man… I dunno. Likely crash at home and play some video games or something. What about you Akira?”

“Not sure. I’ve got something I want to try,” Akira shrugged. “We’ll see. For now,” he smiled, “It’s getting late. You two should go, before the last subway runs.”

“Oh shit, it is late! I promised ma I’d bring some stuff home too… shit.” Ryuji grabbed his bag, “See ya tomorrow.”

“Later,” Ann gave a little wave.

“Tomorrow,” Akira nodded to Ryuji, a chuckle escaping as the guy bolted down the stairs.

“I best be going too.” Ann scooped Morgana up, hugging him then setting him down and heading off.

Akira sighed once they were all gone, his mind moving to Goro. Hopefully the guy was alright. He wanted to go check, but if the detective prince didn’t remember things, he didn’t want to trigger the guy’s memory just yet. He wanted to get through to the guy first.

“Daydreaming about your boyfriend again,” Morgana meowed.

“Yeah.”

Morgana sighed. “And you don’t even try to pretend you don’t like him.”

“Nope.”

Morgana rolled his eyes, then stretched. “Well, you should get some sleep. It’s getting late.”

Akira chuckled, “Oh, should I?”

“Yes. Sleeeeeep,” Morgana tapped Akira with his paw.

Akira laughed. “Oh come on, I’m not a kid that needs to be shooed to bed.” He scratched behind the felines ears before moving to get ready for the evening. Smiling as he did.

The following day went like a typical school day. Listening to the lecture, Akira wanting to fall asleep due to hearing it all before, listening to students gossip about him, answering a question in class… the usual. Though things took an interesting turn as Akira was leaving the school.

**Alibaba:** Is it true? That time has looped? That all this has happened before?

Akira blinked. He’d forgotten that Futaba had the café bugged.

**Akira:** Yes. It’s true Futaba. Time has looped. That means you likely have your palace again. Remember it?

**Alibaba:** A tomb. It was a tomb… is a tomb.

**Akira:** That’s right. A tomb. But you were able to face it last time. Able to accept the truth. That your mother loved you.

**Akira:** She didn’t kill herself, she had a mental shutdown.

**Alibaba:** … did Akechi kill her?

**Akira:** I don’t know, but I don’t think so.

**Alibaba:** So the black mask you mentioned last night. Maybe it was him?

**Akira:** I don’t know, not yet. It’s likely though. But we don’t have any proof.

**Alibaba:** Can… can you come to my house? I want to go to LeBlanc but… I haven’t left the house in months…

**Akira:** Don’t worry. I’ll be your key item Futaba. If we work together, we can do this.

**Alibaba:** Right! So um… see you soon.

**Akira:** See you soon.


	18. Little Lady Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Futaba is back!

Wednesday, April 27. Evening.

Akira was beaming as he reached Café LeBlanc, the red-haired hacker clinging to his arm and looking around a bit nervously. He opened the door, motioning for her to enter first, but she shook her head firmly. “N-no, together,” she insisted.

Akira just chuckled and moved inside with her. “Hey, Boss?”

“What is it?” Sojiro grunted, his back to them as he was cleaning up some coffee someone had spilled.

“U-um… can we have curry for supper…?” Futaba looked up at Akira, then at Sojiro. “The three of us…?”

“Futaba?!” Sojiro’s eyes widened as he heard her voice. He stood up quickly and turned, a baffled look on his face as he saw her at Akira’s side. “What… how…? W-what are you doing out of your room?”

“I’m okay.” Futaba climbed onto one of the bar stools, perching like a bird, drawing her knees up to her chest. “Curry. Hot chocolate too. On the double.” She offered a brief smile.

“I don’t really know what’s going on here,” Sojiro glanced at Akira, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

“Sojiro!” Futaba pouted, “hot chocolate, on the double.”

Sojiro chuckled, his shoulders relaxing some as he moved behind the counter. “Akira, clean that mess up for me? You want something too?” He got to work preparing Futaba a mug of hot chocolate.

“I’ll take some hot chocolate too.” Akira set his bag on the stairs, letting Morgana hop out before he grabbed the mop and cleaned the spilled coffee up. Cleaning the entire floor while he was at it, since it all looked like it could use a good cleaning.

“Hmm…” Sojiro set the two mugs of hot chocolate down on the bar then got to work making curry. He watched the two of them quietly that evening, listening as Futaba talked about how her mother had made the recipe for the curry, and how it was one of her favorites, by far. “What’s gotten into you? I haven’t heard you talk like this for… a long time.” Since her mother died.

“Um…” Futaba bit her lip, then shook her head. “It’s a no go. Sorry, that intel is top secret at the moment.” She shook her finger at him then grinned, “seconds please!”

Sojiro chuckled, dishing her a second plate of food. His eyes soft as he watched her scarfing it all down.

Akira smiled. His team had their hacker back. With this genius imp on their side again, they’d be able to get a lot more done. Maybe they could unravel the mystery of who that black mask was soon. He certainly hoped so. That seemed to be an important key in this mess.

Once they’d both eaten their fill, Akira walked Futaba back to her place. “I’ll call a team meeting tomorrow,” he assured her. “You’ll be there?”

“Mmmhm. I will,” Futaba nodded. “We need to figure out what’s going on, one way or another. I don’t want to have to do all this again and again. Maybe if we figure out what triggered the loop, we can get rid of that trigger.” She paused, then hugged him. “Talk more tomorrow. Um… it’s heavy. I can still feel it, the palace. It’s some better than it was, I can hear my persona… but I can also hear my shadow still. It’s confusing,” she admitted. “I don’t understand how I can have both, at once. But I don’t think I’ll get that answer… until I enter the metaverse again. Maybe… maybe tomorrow, after we all meet up we can go in? Just for a few minutes…”

Akira smiled and returned the hug gently. “Sure thing. We’ll do whatever we can to help you. You know that.”

“Yeah. Yeah I know.” Futaba nodded. “Okay. From now on we’re team again.” She gave Akira a thumbs up, “Night!” She turned, vanishing into her home.

Akira chuckled and turned, walking back to LeBlanc with a smile.

Goro was called into work early on Thursday morning. A soft sigh escaped as he made his way off the subway and down the streets. Most shops weren’t open at this hour. The majority of eating places didn’t open until kids were in school for the day already, and he hadn’t had time to fix himself anything. He wasn’t certain just what he was being called in for at the moment. He couldn’t remember any particular cases that had been pressing at this time.

Was Shido remembering? Was someone else remembering? He hoped not.

“Morning Shuya,” he offered the secretary who was working the front a smile as he entered.

“Morning Akechi.” She didn’t even glance up from her computer. “A delivery for you on your desk.”

“Oh?” Goro moved to the desk in the corner. It was a small area, one that he kept well organized and neat. Always knowing where everything was- and always knowing if someone had moved something. “What is it?”

“No clue.” The secretary shook her head and continued her work.

Goro frowned and took a letter opener, opening the small box carefully. Brow furrowed as he looked inside. Ah… from the director. At least, supposedly from the director. Why wasn’t he surprised? It was a burn phone. Just why the man was giving him this now, of all times, was a solid question. It made no sense. Why was he doing it? Unless the man was going to ask for some more jobs, jobs that he didn’t want Shido to be aware of. Certainly a possibility.

Taking a seat at his desk Goro cleared the box from the desk and turned the burner phone on, noting that there was one number there. It was the director’s number. Idiot should have gotten himself a burn phone as well, if he was paranoid enough to get Goro one. He sighed softly and sent a text to the other number.

**Goro:** A burn phone. I’m intrigued. What’s this for?

**Director:** For some special jobs.

**Goro:** Go on.

**Director:** I need you to gather information on a few people.

**Goro:** Without Shido knowing?

**Director:** I’ll text you the names in an hour. I need it asap.

**Goro:** I’m not your puppet. But I will see what I can do.

**Director:** Good.

The text ended.

Goro shook his head and tucked the burn phone away. There was something fishy about this, but he wasn’t sure just what. Not yet, at least. He was tempted to contact that hacker, see if she could trace the director’s calls through his number or something. He wasn’t sure just what that little lady could pull off. He doubted she would work with him either. If he remembered correctly, she was currently hiding in her room, and wasn’t apt to be leaving it for several more months. Unless Akira did something very different, from last time.

Hopefully. Hopefully Akira would They needed to do a lot of things different if they were going to flip this fool game on its head. He just wasn’t fully certain _what_ they could do different, at this point. There had to be something, though.

It was noon before the director sent him five names to look into. Goro frowned thoughtfully as he saw them, None of them were names he remembered looking into last loop. Why were things changing? Was it something to do with the black mask?

A soft sigh escaped and he left the office early. He sent Sae a brief text, letting her know he was going into mementos, then moved to the subway.

It was easy to get lost in the subway. Entering the moving mass of people, going with the flow and moving along for a time before stepping out and leaning against a wall, eyes wandering as he took note of camera positions and just where everything was. Processing different faces that went past, not recognizing anyone in particular. Then moving again, moving into some blind spots, managing to slip into a corner where no cameras could see what was happening. He waited until the flow of people slowed momentarily, then used the app to enter the metaverse. Moving in to explore some, and see about locating any of the shadows that belonged to those names.

After school couldn’t come quickly enough for Akira. Last night Futaba had asked that he not tell the others she was going to meet them at LeBlanc. It would be a surprise to Ryuji and Ann. A good surprise, she hoped. Though she did end up pouting when Akira told her Yusuke wasn’t with the group again, just yet.

_“Aww… but I want Inari back,” Futaba huffed, cheeks puffing out some. “We’ll get him back. Soon. We’ll get them all back soon.” She had that little glint in her eye that she got at times. When she had something big planned, or was set on getting something accomplished._

On their way to the café, Akira had them stop at a couple stores on the way. Picking up some takeout that Futaba had ordered for him.

“Dude, do we really need this much food?” Ryuji huffed, “I mean sure, I eat a lot, but I don’t eat this much!”

Ann hummed, “We got some sweets too. It looks fantastic! I can’t wait to dig in,” she gushed. “And there’s so much of it! Plenty for leftovers.”

“Please don’t tell me you invited Akechi to join us,” Ryuji grumbled.

“Not today. Maybe another time.” Akira smirked as Ryuji glared at him. “I fully intend to get him involved sooner then later. Maybe there are some things we can do to help get him out from under Shido’s thumb.”

“But!”

Ann elbowed Ryuji then moved ahead, moving into LeBlanc. “Hey Boss,” she offered Sojiro a smile then headed upstairs. Hearing Ryuji and Akira greet the man as they entered behind her. As she reached the top of the stairs her eyes widened. A squeal of delight escaped as she dropped what she was carrying on the table then bounded over, scooping Futaba up in a hug. “You’re back! Omygod you’re actually back! Missed you so much!” She laughed, setting Futaba down again.

“Futaba!” Ryuji grinned as he saw her. “Dude, when did you remember? How did Akira get to you?”

Futaba rolled her eyes. “I’ve got the place bugged, duh.” She stuck her tongue out at them, then gave Akira a hug. “I… I went into my palace for a minute. It’s still there,” she confirmed. “We’re still going to have to go through it. I didn’t go inside though, just to the entrance.”

Akira rubbed her back gently. “We’ll handle it,” he promised her. “Together, we’ll take care of it as soon as we’re able to.” He looked around at their small group. “We’re going to have to grow strong and get our strength up. The more, the better. We already know that. The faster we can grow stronger, the faster we can deal with the issues we dealt with last time- and the longer we have to figure out how to stop things from looping again.”

Ryuji nodded and took the food out of the takeout bags, setting it all out on the table. “Alright, let’s dig in!”

Futaba grinned and grabbed a bowl of ramen, more then happy to chow down. “So the… black mask guy. No idea who it was?” She spoke between bites.

“No clue. He’s an asshole, whoever he is,” Ryuji huffed. He ate another bite.

“Mmm…” Ann ate a few bites of food. “So. Think we can trigger Yusuke’s memories early? How would we even do that?”

“We’d have to meet him first,” Ryuji huffed.

“I could always hack his phone,” Futaba offered. “Tell him to meet somewhere. Then we scoop him up and go into a palace or mementos with him.”

“Palaces are jobs, mementos are part-time jobs,” Morgana jumped up on the table, looking around at the group. “We’re coming back together. Sooner we have everyone the better.”

Futaba nodded in agreement. “Once we have everyone, maybe we’ll be able to um… face my palace then. The sooner it’s gone the better. It feels heavy, and I don’t like it. Knowing it’s still there… and I can hear her. My shadow. Sometimes I see her. She keeps telling me I need to come deal with her. I… I can hear my persona too but… it doesn’t feel like it’s at fully strength.”

“Kinda like how Haru couldn’t fully use her persona at first,” Morgana mused.

“Maybe. I just know I want that palace gone. A tomb… feels like it’s weighing me down.” Futaba sighed.

“What’s all this talk about a tomb?” Sojiro scowled as he came upstairs, giving the kids a sharp look. “Just what’s going on here? How do you even know Futaba? You talk like you’re all old friends, but you haven’t even known each other before this. She’s spent months inside of her room!”

“Oh shit,” Ryuji cursed under his breath.

Sojiro’s eyes narrowed, “I heard you say tomb. The other day you were talking about her being suicidal. Just what’s going on?! I should know. Futaba is,” he swallowed, “I need to know what’s going on with my daughter.”

Futaba bit her lip hard then rose, moving over and giving him a hug. “It’s okay! It’s okay, really. Um…” she looked at the others. “S-should we maybe… show him?”

“What, actually take him in?” Ryuji scowled, “Seems dangerous…”

“We’d only go to the entrance!” Futaba insisted.

Akira nodded, “Maybe seeing it himself will help… plus he’ll be able to understand Morgana then.”

“What do you mean? The cat?” Sojiro’s brow furrowed.

“Not a cat,” Morgana grumbled.

Akira sighed and rose. “Mind closing the café for the evening? I know its early, but this is going to take a little while. We need to go to your place, too. To show you.”

“Why can’t you show me right here?” Sojiro huffed.

“Cause we can’t. Come ooon,” Futaba pouted.

Sojiro sighed, shoulders falling a little. “Alright! Alright…” his face softened a little as he gave Futaba a hug, then moved downstairs with them. “None of this makes any sense…”

“It will,” Ann assured him.

The small group made their way outside, Sojiro flipping the sign to closed before walking to his home with them all. Futaba bit her lip as they reached the house. She tugged them into the entrance then activated the app.

“What the?!” Sojiro looked around in confusion as they found themselves in front of the pyramid. He turned slowly, frowning as he saw the group in their outfits, save for Futaba. She was still in her regular clothes. “What’s with…?”

“We’re seen as threats here,” Joker explained. “Thus the outfit change. We have persona.” He brought Arsene out, showing him to Sojiro.

Sojiro frowned, eyes widening after a moment. “But… didn’t Akechi try to kill you? I remember now. And you’ve been acting friendly to him.”

Joker nodded, “he’s grown up in the foster care system.” He saw Sojiro grimace. “I don’t know how long he’s been in the system. I just know he was young when he ended up in it.” He shifted his weight, “Shido is his father, but the man doesn’t even acknowledge him. Last loop, Akechi was on a route to self-destruct. He wanted to tear the man down, and fully expected to be killed in the process.” He looked away for a moment then sighed, eyes returning to Sojiro. “I can’t let him do that. I have to find a way to keep him from getting that far. Sojiro, please. Don’t let him know you remember. He feels safe at the café. I think it’s the only place he feels safe. I don’t want to take that away from him.”

Sojiro sighed. “Honestly…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “And you have a crush on him too.” He shook his head as he saw the tips of Joker’s ears turn red. “It’s not hard to see. Fine. I won’t treat him any different. If anything, it sounds like he needs someone to watch over him.” He groaned and rubbed his face a moment. “What a mess.” He turned, scowling as he thought about some things. After a moment he sighed. “It’ll take a while to sort through all the memories,” he grunted. “And I may have questions for you later,” he warned.

“You’re in the know now, so we’ll answer best as we can,” Futaba assured him.

Sojiro smiled and gave her head a pat before frowning as he saw something coming out of the pyramid. “W-what the…? That looks like you!”

Futaba turned, looking towards the pyramid. “It’s… it’s my shadow,” she said softly. She chewed her lip nervously then moved forward, meeting the shadow at the bottom of the steps. Futaba and the shadow speak, the rest of the group remaining silent. Watching. Sojiro takes a step forward but Joker rests a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.

“W-wow…” Futaba looks down at herself as her outfit changes to her usual metaverse attire. The little lady grins, her persona appearing and her entering it. For a moment her shadow seems to shimmer before it sinks into the persona as well. As the shadow sinks into the persona, a bright light shimmers around it, altering the persona’s shape. Becoming Al Azif.

“Wow… I… I feel more powerful then ever,” Futaba marveled. She moved out of her persona again, feet hitting the ground as her persona vanished from view. She was grinning. She turned, darting over and half tackling Sojiro, giving him a tight hug. “I’m okay,” she promised. “W-we still need to defeat the cognition at… at the top but… but I’m okay. I already feel some better.” She grinned at the others before covering a big yawn. “Mmm… hungry and sleepy. Sojiro, you interrupted our supper!”

Sojiro just laughed. “You’re right, you’re fine,” he agreed. He hugged Futaba then sighed. “Let’s get back…”

Fifteen minutes later the group was back in Café LeBlanc, Sojiro serving them all some hot curry.

“So,” Morgana jumped up on the counter. “What did you think of the metaverse, Boss?”

“Well, it was a lot more intense then I-“ Sojiro paused, “… did the cat just talk?”

Morgana huffed, fur puffing out some, “I AM NOT A CAT!”


	19. More Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that his own memories have come back, Sojiro decides it's time to get some of the other adults involved. He sets up a meeting, only to get a surprise, himself.

Friday morning was a strange morning in Sojiro’s eyes. For months, Futaba had stayed locked away in her room. Not coming out for anything, not even him. Sending him texts of phone calls to specify what she desired. So having her eating breakfast at LeBlanc, beside of the messy-haired parolee under his care felt like the definition of strange at this point. Things only felt weirder with how the feline sitting on the counter was daydreaming about finding ways to make Lady Ann smile.

He watched as Akira left the café, the feline settling in the teen's bag. He sighed, eyes moving to Futaba a moment. “I need to pick up a few things at the store, alright?” He chuckled when Futaba gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t cause too much trouble while I’m gone.” He grabbed his hat, putting it on. Eyes rolling slightly when Futaba just waved him off. Stepping outside, he made sure the sign said closed.

An old phone was tugged out of his pocket. Not his new smart phone- the one he knew Futaba had bugged at some point- but a burner phone. He scrolled through the contacts absently. He’d added some contacts last night, after making a list of the adults he knew had worked with Akira in the past. The prosecutor Niijima Sae, the fortune teller Mifune Chihaya, the airsoft shop owner Iwai Munehisa, the doctor Takemi Tae, the teacher Kawakami Sadayo, the reporter Ohya Ichiko, and lastly, the politician Yoshida Toranosuke. Eight adults, himself included. He sometimes wondered just how much each of them knew about Akira, and the whole situation with the metaverse. All he knew for sure was that they all needed to get more involved. One way or another. Just how he was going to manage it, he wasn’t sure.

He sighed, adding all of them to a chat group, then sending a text.

**Sojiro:** I know most of you won’t recognize my name. Some of you will. I’m Sakura Sojiro. I’m taking care of Kurusu Akira right now, while he’s in Tokyo. Some of you know his name, some of you don’t remember it yet. You will. We all need to meet up somewhere and talk. Tonight if possible.

 **Sae:** … You’ve gotten your memories back too, Sojiro? Good. Then we really do need to talk.

 **Ohya:** Ooooh… I smell a scoop. Why don’t we meet up at Lala’s bar? I’ll treat everyone to a drink!

 **Chihaya:** Memories back? I haven’t met anyone named Sojiro, or anyone named Akira that I remember, yet both names sound familiar. Strange…

 **Kawakami:** Ug… why did you have to send this text now. I’m starting class in ten minutes. Akira’s in my class. What a drag… what’s this about?

 **Iwai:** Yeah, I know the kid. He in some kinda trouble?

 **Yoshida:** I don’t recall the name, Akira. Though if I can help out somehow, I will. Where and when are we meeting up?

 **Ohya:** The _baaar._ Where else would adults like us meet up?

 **Tae:** Sorry Ohya, but I’d suggest not meeting at the bar the first time. Maybe in the future we can meet up there. Sojiro, I’ve a good idea why you want us to meet. Sae and I have been talking some, and were hoping to get this group together, as well. It’ll be best if we meet at your Café. Café LeBlanc.

 **Sojiro:** My daughter has my café bugged, and I’d rather not have her listening in to this first meeting.

 **Tae:** Then let’s meet in front of LeBlanc. But we need to meet there, not somewhere else for the first time. How does tonight sound for everyone? After school is out… maybe 4 o’clock? The teens should all be busy at that hour.

 **Sojiro:** I’ll treat everyone to a meal at my café, after we meet up.

 **Sae:** I’ll be there.

 **Ohya:** Aw… I’d rather do the bar. Fiiiine, I’ll be there.

 **Chihaya:** The signs are aligned… there is something amiss, and this meeting is an important one. I will be there as well.

 **Kawakami:** Ug… fine. I guess this seems important.

 **Iwai:** Fine. I’ll be there. I hope the kid isn’t in trouble.

 **Yoshida:** I’ve never been to café LeBlanc before, though I know where it is. I’ll be there at 4.

 **Tae:** See you all then.

 **Sojiro:** Great. See you at 4.

Sojiro sighed as he tucked the phone away. It wouldn’t be a long walk to his place from the café. If he needed to convince them he could always take them to Futaba’s palace briefly. Though he didn’t know how he would. He didn’t have that odd app on his phone.

Hopefully just a good talk would bring some of their memories back. He wasn’t sure just what else he could do, at this point.

After school, Kawakami left school shortly after the students did. She sighed as she made her way to the subway station, her mind on the meeting that man had called for. This was so lame. She had to get to work tonight. Hopefully she actually _had_ work tonight. It was hard to get jobs at times, and she had another payment due before long.

Her steps slowed some as she spotted a couple kids from her class. The new kid, Akira. He was the one mentioned in the text. That troublemaker Ryuji was with him, as was Ann, a cat, and someone with red hair and glasses that she didn’t recognize. Brow furrowed a bit and she moved a little closer, listening and trying to understand what was going on. She watched as Akira lifted his phone, tapping an app… and the kids just vanished. “W-what the?!” Her eyes widened as she stared a moment.

“… I’m hallucinating. I’ve got to be hallucinating. There’s no way…” her voice trailed off.

“… and the day gets even weirder.” She groaned, then got on the subway with a grumble, making her way to café LeBlanc.

Tae and Sae were the first two that got to the café. The two women spoke softly as they waited for the others to arrive. Arguing some, though Sae eventually pinched her brow. “Fine, fine. We’ll do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea but we’ll do it.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Akechi won’t be happy.”

“He’s a _child,_ ” Tae hissed. “Screw doctor patient confidentiality. The situation for him is downright abusive. I’m not going to stay quiet, not this time. I should have spoken up last loop.”

“Loop?” A rather confused Yoshida moved over to the two women. “I’m not sure why I’m being called to this meeting,” he admitted. “But if there’s anything I can do to assist, the teenagers and younger generation are the future of our country. If I can do something to help, I will.”

“So just what’s the scoop anyway?” Ohya moved over, looking unusually alert. Her eyes were sharp as she looked over the gathering adults.

“Huh…” Iwai grunted, looking the others over. He looked at Sae suspiciously, then crossed his arms. Leaning against a nearby wall, staying quiet.

“Everyone here?” Sojiro stepped out of LeBlanc, flipping the sign to closed. He looked around, counting all seven others as they arrived. “Good. Now where to begin…”

“We’ll start,” Sae glanced at Tae, then around at the adults. “Not here though. Tae and I are going to show you something. Just.”

“What are you going to show-“ Sojiro froze as he saw the app on Sae’s phone. “You have it too?!”

Sae nodded, then hit the app.

“The hell?!” Ohya looked around as the world seemed to warp around them. It wasn’t long before it became more solid, Akechi’s palace appearing in front of them. “… I think my last drink was too strong…”

“You can enter the metaverse too?” Sojiro turned, looking at Sae and Tae. Eyes widening as he realized their outfits had changed. “And you have persona?!”

“What, you were going to try and trigger their memories without drawing them into the metaverse?” Tae sighed, “I don’t know how well that would work.” She turned, looking at the others. “Take a few minutes, just get your bearings. Then we’ll take some more.”

“And don’t go through the gate,” Sae added, “There are beings in there that will attack on sight. Tae’s a healer, not a fighter, and while I can hold my own I’d rather not put you all at risk.”

“…heh…” Iwai looked around a moment, then chuckled. “Damn. So this is why that brat is always stopping by my store. Let me guess, those weird things,” he motioned to a shadow he could see, “drop shit. And they have to be fought…” he tugged out a fake gun from his boot and tested it on a tree. “… I’ll have to up my game. If the weapons the brat is buying is for use in here, I need to improve them.” The gun went back into his boot, eyes thoughtful.

Ohya just stared. “So… what is this place?” She paused, then gave Sae a sharp look. “The Phantom Thieves stole hearts, right? Is this how they did it? Coming into places like this and finding the heart inside?”

Sae nodded, “Basically, yeah. This place is called a palace. It belongs to a particular person. It was formed for some reason. Different palaces are made for different reasons. I had one. Mine was formed because of my anger and… desperation. I was so angry at work, how so many cases are unfair. It always felt like a gamble- and a gamble that was twisted so the prosecution always wins. It’s not a fair system. My palace was resolved because someone helped me go through it. Helped me face my own shadow. Once I accepted it, and accepted my treasure, my palace collapsed- was no longer needed.

“So the treasure is the heart,” Kawakami frowned. “The parents that are blackmailing me. They had a palace…?”

“Not necessarily. There’s a place connected to the Subway too, Mementos. A huge palace for all of Tokyo.” Tae explained, “I’ve only been to the entrance of that, though.”

Sojiro sighed, “That’s where the kids are now, actually. I’m still wrapping my head around all this, but they do a lot of stuff to help people out, using this world.”

“They’re just kids though,” Yoshida frowned, “they shouldn’t have to handle such responsibility. It would be overwhelming to most adults.” He paused, “I… do remember now. Akira helped me with my confidence. I taught him about public speaking.”

“He helped me out of a mess, too.” Chihaya mused.

“Pretty sure he’s helped all of us with something,” Kawakami sighed, “And he still manages to be top of the class with grades. Sheesh… does he even get a chance to sleep?”

Ohya’s eyes widened. “My old partner…!” She remembered what had happened. Holy shit. She needed to get on that asap.

“So you said your place, palace thing was taken care of.” Iwai crossed his arms again as he looked at Sae and Tae. “Who’s place is this?”

Sae frowned, hesitating a moment.

“You’re all starting to remember things now.” Tae looked around at everyone, confirming it. “You remember how Shido was so popular near the end of the loop? How he won the election, then ended up breaking down and admitting his crimes? That man has a son. One he’s never claimed or supported. Someone that he’s manipulated and used… last loop, almost killed.” She sighed, “Akechi Goro.”

“The detective prince?” Ohya’s mouth dropped open, “I did a story on him. He’s a foster kid. His mother killed herself…”

“I’ve taken guardianship of him, within the past month.” Sae frowned, “I found out about his history, how the foster parent he supposedly had wasn’t even giving him shelter. I’ve been keeping an eye on him since. Though he’s insisting in living in his own place.”

“Well damn… heh… shoulda figured.” Iwai nodded to the sword at Sae’s side. “I’d wondered what Akechi was planning to do with that. Guess that’s your weapon for in here?” He sighed, “How do you get that app anyway? If I’m going to be making weapons for the kids I should be testing them out.” He frowned, “Hell… I should give the kids lessons in how to use them properly.”

“So Akechi remembers?” Sojiro frowned, “But the way he’s been acting…”

“I’ll not speak for him.” Sae shook her head, “He’s got his reasons for staying quiet about it. I think he believes Akira and the others don’t remember.”

“Huh…” Sojiro frowned thoughtfully then sighed. “It’s just a huge mess, and the kids are trying to sort through it all on their own.” His frown grew a bit before he looked up at the other adults. “I don’t know what all we can do, but I’ve got some contacts. I can put some pressure on Shido that way. I just thought if we were all aware of the mess, we can find ways to lessen the load on those kids.

It’s not right that they’re handling it all. They should be learning and having fun, not carrying the weight of Tokyo on their shoulders. If they have to handle it all, then we’ve failed them. Or that’s how it feels to me.”

“Akira spent time in jail last time,” Iwai scowled, “I had some guys on the inside protect him but still… if we can make it so he doesn’t get stuck there again, we need to. Kid that age shouldn’t have to go through that.”

“Until Akechi and Akira admit to the other that they remember, best if we don’t let them know we’re aware,” Kawakami reasoned. “It would confuse things even more for them.”

“Agreed.” Yoshida nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll all keep in touch. We can text each other, share information. We each have different contacts we can use. Let’s see what we can do to help the kids out.” He offered the others a smile, “I’m not all that sure what I can do, but if you can get proof on some of Shido’s crimes… I can get those to some of the parties against him.”

“And I can write shit,” Ohya added. “You need news to get out about something, that’s my thing.”

Sojiro smiled, “Good. That’s… good.” He glanced at the palace again then sighed. “…so Akechi has a palace…” he looked at Tae and Sae. “Akira should know about this.”

“I know. I keep trying to convince Goro to let them in,” Sae grimaced, “but after what happened last time, he doesn’t think they’d want to help him.”

“Oh for the love of…” Sojiro pinched his brow. “Akira’s got a crush on him, one of the worst crushes I’ve ever seen. I think Akira would swim across the Pacific if he had to, for Akechi.”

Tae snorted, “I can believe it. Akechi’s just as bad about Akira, even if he won’t admit it freely.”

Sojiro chuckled, “Well, hopefully they’ll start talking soon. Anyway… we’ve been in here a while. Who wants some coffee back at the café?”

The different adults agreed to head back, all of them moving into LeBlanc, picking up a more casual conversation about things as they relaxed. Getting to know each other a bit better, and enjoying their food and coffee.


	20. Bad Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While things seem to be going well, Akira's just got a bad feeling and can't pinpoint why... until Goro shows up at the cafe again. The talk with Goro leaves Akira worried, and wishing for more answers.

After defeating Kamohida’s shadow, the following days seem to pass like a blue for Akira. Hanging out with friends on Saturday, trying to get in contact with Goro on Sunday, but not able to get through. He spend a few hours working at Triple Seven to pass the time. Try to distract himself from the feeling that something was just… _wrong._ He didn’t know what it was, but something felt off. To his surprise, Yusuke was one of his customers that Sunday. He greeted the other teen cheerfully, though with the constant line of customers he didn’t have much time to talk. Yusuke seemed to recognize him, though the bean pole didn’t understand _why_ he recognized Akira.

Could the guy be remembering some things already? Akira hoped so. That might make this all a lot easier to handle things. He could hope… he very much hoped.

Monday, May 2nd. It went almost the same as Akira remembered it. Though this time it wasn’t only Ann yelling at Kamoshida. Shiho was there as well. Bruises still showing despite the use of makeup to mask them. She was there, though. Something Akira was grateful to see. There was a fire in the girl’s eyes, something he’d not seen before. He was glad to see it.

Tuesday was a day with no school, something Akira welcomed. He groaned as Boss asked him to help out around the café today, but he agreed. The man was giving him a place to live, it was only fair that he helped out at times. He spent the morning cleaning the café top to bottom. Sweeping, mopping, cleaning the tables and seats. It was almost ten am when the bell jingled, signaling someone’s entrance.

“What can I get you?” Sojiro looked up, pausing as he saw Akechi. The man’s eyes narrowed a moment before he sighed, making himself relax.

“A coffee please.” Akechi moved over, sinking onto one of the stools.

“Of course,” Sojiro turned, “Hey Akira. You know the blend he likes best, why don’t you tend to his coffee?”

“Oh? Sure.” Akira moved over, lighting up when he saw Goro. “Your usual?”

“Please.” Goro rested his arms on the counter, eyes distant as he stared at the coffee containers on the wall. He didn’t notice when Sojiro gave Akira charge of the café before stepping out, too lost in his thoughts to realize time had passed until he felt the warm mug pushed against his hands. His fingers curled around the mug instinctively, gripping it tight and drawing it close. A slow sip was taken, shoulders falling some as Goro held the mug closer. Almost possessively.

“… lost in thought?”

“Hmm?”

“I said you’re lost in thought,” Akira teased. “Have you had any breakfast yet?”

Goro shook his head.

“I’ll make you something,” Akira offered. Moving to check what ingredients he had to work with.

“You really don’t need to.”

“I want to.”

“I only paid for the coffee.”

“The food’s my treat.” Akira offered Goro a smile then tugged out some pancake batter he’d made last night. He’d decided he always wanted to have some on hand in case Goro showed up, and needed some. From the expression on the other’s face, he thought that now was as good a time as any for them. “What’s on your mind?”

Goro just shook his head.

“Okay… well, how’d you sleep last night?”

“I didn’t.”

“You didn’t?” Akira paused, concern in his eyes as he looked at Goro. “What kept you up all night?”

“… work.” Goro shrugged.

“You’re underage still, even if you’re almost an adult. That supervisor of yours shouldn’t be keeping you on for overtime.”

Goro snorted, “Oh it wasn’t him this time. There was a banquet… I was told to attend. It lasted pretty late. Boring… stuck around a bunch of snobs all night.” He shrugged, though his hand tightened around his mug. “Those are always the worst, but they’re useful for gaining information on people.”

Akira set the pancake’s in front of Goro, watching as the detective prince just paused, staying at the cakes a moment then digging in. He pursed his lips as he watched Goro, studying the other. Eyes paused on a small bruise on Goro’s cheekbone. He started to ask before changing his mind. Instead he grabbed a cloth, wetting it then moving around. “You’ve got something on your face…” he gently took Goro by the chin, holding the other teen’s head still as he carefully wiped around the bruise he’d seen. Lips pursed as the makeup came off, revealing a bad bruise underneath. “Goro, what happened?” His thumb brushed over the bruise gently. Eyes searching as he turned Goro’s head so he could look into the other’s eyes.

“It’s nothing,” Goro insisted, looking away from Akira. Staring down at the pancakes.

“That bruise is certainly something,” Akira insisted.

Goro brushed Akira’s hand away. “It’s nothing. Nothing that can be changed, at least.” He grimaced, “don’t… don’t push it Akira. It’s someone I can’t touch.”

Akira shook his head. “You should report this.”

“To who?” Goro spat, “no one would believe me, and it would by my word against an _upstanding_ member of the law enforcement. No one is going to believe an orphan, over someone like that. To them, I’m disposable.” Eyes narrowed a little as he saw the look on Akira’s face. “Don’t bother. There’s nothing you can do about this. It’s happened before, will happen again.”

“It’s happened before?!” Akira’s eyes widened. “That’s not right. Why don’t you tell your guardian or, or something.”

Goro finished his pancakes, then gripped his mug of coffee, watching the steam rise from the drink. “For years it was living in the institution, or short times spent in foster homes where I’d start settling in only to get tossed back to the institution. Or where the foster parent would… take advantage, of things.” He grimaced, “I’m only in school because of my job. I lose that…” he shook his head. “I’ve a new guardian now, sure, but… I don’t want to trouble her with this. She’s already got enough on her plate as it is.”

Akira sighed and gave Goro’s shoulder a squeeze. “If you ever need to vent, I’m here,” he said softly. “Even if you can’t do anything about it now. You will, eventually.”

“… we’ll see.” Goro finished his coffee, glancing up as Sojiro came back inside. He nodded to the man then rose. “I should be going…”

“Why don’t you two head upstairs, hang out for the day,” Sojiro suggested. “You could watch a movie, play video games or something. It’s started to pour… not a good day to be out and about.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Akira offered Boss a smile then took Goro’s hand. “Come on.”

Goro sighed, but moved upstairs with the other. A low chuckle escaped as he watched Akira moving things around, so that the couch was facing the tv. “Honestly, you don’t need to baby me,” he complained.

“I’m not. I’m trying to spoil you some.” Akira made Goro sit, then he turned a movie on. He took a seat next to Goro, just relaxing beside the other. Fingers moved to Goro’s hair, stroking it and playing with it some. Akira’s smirk grew as he saw Goro’s eyes starting to drift shut. It didn’t take long before Goro was leaning against him, the detective’s breathing calm. Akira shifted, gently guiding Goro into his lap.

He watched as Goro remained fast asleep, lips pursing as he thought about what Goro had revealed. Tugging his phone out he sent a text to Futaba.

**Akira:** Futaba, can you check on what Goro's been up to the last couple days?

 **Futaba:** Already tracing back where Akechi was the past couple days. I hacked into his phone… he’s been to two different gatherings. One on Sunday, one last night. Hasn’t been in this area since Sunday morning. Trying to pinpoint what happened.

 **Akira:** Thanks.

 **Futaba:** No problem. I still don’t like him, but I know you care about him… and like him or not, no one should have to put up with abuse.

 **Akira:** Thanks for understanding. I can’t just stand by and watch him hurt. I need to help him somehow.

 **Futaba:** Enjoy your movie.

Akira smiled.

 **Akira:** I will.


	21. Time Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Goro spend Wednesday together and talk. Aka- Akira flirts with a smirk.

Goro had woken at some point long after the movie ended, finding that Akira had moved him onto the bed. The other guy was lounging on the couch. The detective price covered a yawn, sitting up slowly. “I should… get back to my place.”

“You can spend the night if you want,” Akira offered. “I’m enjoying the company.”

“I hardly think sleeping is company.”

“You’re cute when you sleep.” Akira smirked, “I rather like seeing it,” he teased.

Goro sighed, “if I’m going to spend the night then you use the bed.”

“You’re the guest, you shouldn’t have to use the couch.”

“I’m not going to.”

Akira paused, then grinned. “Well, if that’s what you want~” He chuckled and rose, moving over and taking a seat on the bed, beside of Goro. “You look half asleep.”

“I am.” Goro laid down again, “now shut up and lay down.”

“So bossy~” Akira laughed, but obeyed. Smiling as he brushed his fingers through Goro’s hair. Goro melted against the touch, nuzzling close. Soon falling asleep again.

Akira’s eyes softened as he watched Goro sleep. He gently kissed Goro’s forehead before closing his eyes, falling asleep as well.

Goro came to slowly the next morning. The scent of coffee and curry drifting up the stairs. He yawned then rose, looking around for a moment, cheeks reddening as he thought of last night. He’d slept better then he had in months. Having the other near like that, feeling his warmth… it had been such a welcome thing. He hadn’t even known how much he crazed it. How would Akira react, when he remembered? Would the guy be horrified that he let a killer close? Would he hate him? Or would Akira continue being warm towards him?

He sighed, mind moving back to last loop. Everything he knew about Akira. Akira was a rebel. He cared deeply for other people and was willing to put himself at risk to help others. He was a mischief maker, but at the same time… understanding and kind. The guy could be a bit petty at times, but then, couldn’t anyone?

He rose, making his way downstairs, taking a seat at the counter as he watched Akira preparing curry. “Good morning.”

Akira’s face seemed to light up as he heard Goro’s voice. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“Very.” Goro curled his fingers around the mug of coffee that Akira set in front of him. Enjoying the warmth against his hands. Just staring at it a moment before lifting the brew and sipping. Curry was set in front of him a moment later. “I’m not the best with spicy things…”

“I know. I made a mild for you,” Akira assured him.

Goro’s eyebrows lifted a touch. “Oh?” He glanced at the curry a moment then took a forkful, tasting the food. A very small test bite. He waited a moment for the spice to hit before relaxing as it wasn’t overwhelming. “Pretty good.” He offered Akira a brief smile before starting to eat.

Akira smirked, “Glad you like it.” He dished himself a plate, eating as well. He ended up refilling Goro’s plate twice by the time they were finished breakfast. “Have any plans for today?”

“No.”

“Want to hang out?”

“Do you have any plans?” Goro countered.

“I need to go to the airsoft shop but otherwise, no.”

“It’s a decent shop,” Goro mused. “I enjoy going there.”

“So, why don’t you come with me?”

“Don’t you have someone else to hang out with? I know you’ve got a lot of friends.”

Akira leaned over the counter, lifting Goro’s chin. “I want to hang out with you. I rather enjoy your company, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can.” He smirked, “I’d welcome a repeat of last night. Listening to you sleep, knowing you’re safe with me.”

Goro huffed, ears reddening as he ducked his head. “You’re a horrid flirt.”

“And you’re adorable when you blush.” Akira laughed when Goro punched his arm. “You are!”

Goro mumbled something then sighed, “I need to go home and change into a different outfit first but… sure, why not?”

Akira grinned. “Great!” He gathered the empty dishes, cleaning them. “I’ll walk you over to your place.”

“It’s only a couple buildings down.”

“I know. And this is only a couple of dishes.”

Goro rolled his eyes, though he was smiling. “Sometimes I think you go out of your way to try and torment people.”

“Only you.” Akira booped Goro’s nose, snickering when the other jerked back a little. “Come on, let’s go.” He glanced down at Morgana, who was giving him a dirty look. “You get to stay here with boss today.” He scratched behind Morgana’s ears, then looked at Goro. “Maybe we can do sushi tonight. I keep planning to bring him some, somehow always fail to.”

Goro seemed to perk up at the mention of sushi. “I love sushi. Sure, we can do that.”

Akira grinned, then headed outside with him.

At Goro’s home, Akira waited downstairs for the other to change and get ready to go. He looked around absently, noting just how bare this home seemed. It was a place to exist… not really a home. So organized and neat. Nothing personal about it. No paintings or plants. Just the tv, coffee table, nice seating… it almost looked unlived in. He could see some planter boxes in a pile to the side, that had never been used. Maybe he could convince Goro to use them. For that matter, maybe he could get Goro to let him help decorate some. Make the place more inviting.

It was no wonder Goro didn’t sleep well, if he was always so serious. He needed to relax, have more fun. There had to be a way to show Goro that live could still be fun, no matter how fucked up your past was.

“Alright,” Goro came downstairs, adjusting his gloves absently. “I’m ready to go.”

“You always wear those gloves,” Akira mused. “Why?”

“Force of habit, I suppose. They’re comfortable.”

“Right.” Akira paused, looking Goro over. The detective prince was dressed in some deep brown trousers, and an argyle sweater. He sighed, reaching over and brushing Goro’s hair back out of his face. “I get that you’re trying to fit in with the older detectives, but don’t you have anything more casual? Honestly, I bet you could make a lot of money if you got into modeling.”

Goro blinked, just staring at Akira as he processed that. “Modeling? I doubt it. Not many people like my eyes.”

“Your eyes are beautiful garnets,” Akira smirked, “you could at least try a few pictures sometime. It would be a way to make some extra money, and you’d still be able to work on your cases when you weren’t doing shoots. One of my friends does modeling. Bet she could introduce you to a few people.”

Goro laughed, shaking his head. “Honestly. I really doubt I’d do well with that. Though maybe I’ll try it sometime. It could be an amusing distraction, if nothing else.”

Akira smiled, “That gives me an idea. Maybe I can talk my friends into doing a mini fashion show. Just for our group. You’re invited of course. But we can try different outfits and styles. Just have fun with it.”

“Are you sure they’d want me to join? I don’t know any of them…”

“And you won’t know any of them, till you meet them.” Akira nudged him, then headed outside with him. “We’ll make some good memories, hmm? I want to see you smiling more often. Not that fake celeb smile either… a real smile. I haven’t seen it, often.”

“No one sees that often,” Goro admitted.

Akira smiled, then took Goro’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze. “Things can always get better.”

“… I’d like to think so. Sometimes, though… sometimes that just doesn’t seem possible.”

“That’s why you have to hope.”

A barked laugh escaped Goro. “Hope? I lost my hope years ago.”

“You still keep pushing forward though. If you’d completely lost all hope, I doubt you’d have bothered continuing to try.”

Goro looked at Akira thoughtfully, then ahead. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just hurting so much… I want the people that hurt me, to suffer. I ‘hope’ for that, even if it feels like a vain hope at times.”

“It’s still hope.” Akira shook his head, “might feel like that’s all you’ve got now, but things can change. Maybe we can find some more things to focus on, together.”

“… maybe.”

The trip to the airsoft shop was a fairly short one. Akira exchanged the medal for some cash, then spent some time looking at weapons with Goro. He picked out one dagger he particularly liked. One he hadn’t seen before, and seemed a lot stronger than the one he was already using. He grabbed a sword that Goro had seemed particularly interested in, putting both on the counter to purchase them. He smirked as he heard Goro start to protest, just nudging the other. “Let me get it for you.” He snickered as he heard Goro’s groan. “You know there’s no point in arguing with me.”

“I do. I know that all too well,” Goro huffed, though he was smiling.

Iwai looked at the two of them a moment, then sighed. “You two seem mighty interested in these weapons. How’d you like a lesson in how they’re actually used?”

“You teach people?” Goro frowned.

“Naw, not usually. But for two of my regulars?” He shrugged. “You remind me of my kid. He’s into cosplay and shit. Wants to know how to use the weapons proper so it’s more authentic.” He rose, flipping the sign to closed. “Come on.” He led them out the back and into the ally.

“Show me how you hold em.”

Akira shifted into his fighting stance, as did Goro.

“Huh… not bad.” Iwai moved to Akira first, adjusting his stance a little. “More balance this way. If something tried to hit your leg you’d topple. People seem to think fighting is all about attacking. Not always the case. You need to know how to parry. Not block- but parry. Here, let me see that.” He took the knife from Akira. “You, kid. Attack me once.” He glanced at Goro.

Goro nodded then jumped forward, slashing with the sword.

Iwai knocked the blow to the side and retaliated. “See? If I only blocked, it would reduce damage sure, but knocking the attack to the side gives me an opening.”

“Makes sense,” Akira nodded.

“Heh… figured you two would catch on quick. Now let’s continue…”

The three of them ended up training together for well over two hours before Iwai was satisfied. “Any time you or your friends want to learn more about weapons, stop over,” he grunted. “If you want to know how to use guns properly, I can take you two a shooting range I like.”

“Thank you. But why are you doing this?” Goro frowned a little.

“Eh… just am.” Iwai shrugged then took a seat, tugging his hat down a little. “I’ve kept you a while… you two have other stuff to do, I’m sure.”

“We do. Thanks Iwai.” Akira offered the guy a smile then headed out with Goro. “I feel like I just spent an hour at the gym,” Akira complained. Though he was smiling.

“So do I, but it was worth it,” Goro mused. “So… with you going into that other place. Think those lessons will help you at all?”

“Maybe.” Akira smiled, “I hope so. I think any weapon can work better, if the person using it understands how to use it.”

“Mmm…” Goro fell silent as they walked.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting different places. Getting some books at the bookstore, renting a couple dvds. Akira had Goro pick out a few things he liked. They ordered sushi at a decent restaurant and picked it up after finishing shopping. Then the two of them headed back home. Akira stopped at the café first, leaving some sushi for Morgana, just so the feline wouldn’t complain too much. Then he went to Goro’s home with the detective. Setting most of the purchases down on the counter.

“I thought these things were for you?” Goro pulled a potted plant out of one bag.

“Nope.” Akira started unpacking the bags, setting everything out. “We’ll eat first, but then we’re decorating this place some. That’s why I had you pick everything out.”

“Decorating? Why?”

“Well this is your home. You might sleep better if it looks more like a home, then some office.” Akira chuckled and nudged Goro.

Goro sighed, “I doubt decorating will help me sleep.”

“Won’t know until you try.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

Akira just smirked, setting the sushi on the table and getting them some drinks. “Thanks.”

“That’s not a-“

“-compliment,” Akira just smiled, “I think it is.” He winked at Goro then took a seat. “Come on. Relax, enjoy supper.”

“Yes mother,” Goro quipped, taking a seat. “Honestly, give you a yard…”

Akira just grinned, lifting a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and teasing Goro with it. Goro glared at him, then opened his mouth to tell him to back off. The sushi was pushed into his open mouth before he could scold the other teen. He closed his mouth, cheeks red as he chewed and swallowed. “You’re horrible.”

“If you want me to stop I will,” Akira ate a piece of sushi. “All you have to do is tell me.” He ate another piece of sushi, smirking as Goro seemed to realize there was only one set of chopsticks.

“S-shut up and give me another bite. I’m hungry.”

Akira laughed and fed Goro another bite. Pleased that Goro hadn’t said no.

Goro couldn’t be more embarrassed. He was just pleased he was at his own house while this was happening. Akira was horrible. It was enough to drive a guy nuts! At the same time, though… at the same time, he loved it. He loved how confident Akira was, with himself. How the other guy seemed to know exactly what he wanted, and just went for it. In some ways it didn’t feel fair. This guy had everything stacked against him, and was just so happy. How could everything just go… right… for Akira, and go so wrong for himself? It just didn’t seem fair.

He blinked as Akira nudged him. “Hmm?”

“You look like you’re pouting about something.”

“Am not.”

“Are so.”

Goro groaned and elbowed Akira lightly, gaining a laugh from the other.

“By the way… thanks.”

“For what?” Goro frowned a little. “I haven’t done anything worth getting thanked for.”

“Oh?” Akira fed Goro the last bite of sushi then leaned forward, resting his head on his hand as he smirked at Goro. “I’d say otherwise. You likely saved my life.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The other day. In the metaverse.”

Goro’s eyes snapped to Akira’s, staring a moment before he rose, gathering their glasses and cleaning them. “What day?”

“You know when I said my group was going in to confront Kamoshida. Things went fairly well, until some random guy showed up. No clue who. He had us at gunpoint, had the advantage. He was using a real gun too. Then you showed up. If you hadn’t attacked that guy…”

Goro frowned, “I don’t-“

“Goro, please. I know it was you.” Akira sighed, “How’s your arm doing? I know he shot you there.”

“Sore. Thankfully the bullet only grazed.” Goro pursed his lips, “Akira I-“

“As I said, thanks for saving us.” Akira rose, reaching over and teasing Goro’s hair. Smirking as the detective prince sputtered some. “Come on, let’s get to decorating this place some. I just want you to know that _I_ know you have a persona, too. If you ever want to work with my team, I’d welcome you.”

“Not sure the others would.”

“Hey, there’s always a chance.” Akira smiled at him, “you’re not alone Goro. Being a lone wolf might sound cool, but it also sounds mighty lonely to me. I don’t care what happened, or what you’ve done. I’m here for you now.” He reached over, lifting Goro’s chin, making the other guy look at him. “I’m here for you,” he repeated softly. “I care for you. A lot. I’m not going to just stay back and watch you get hurt.”

Goro closed his eyes, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Akira’s. “You don’t know the mess you’re getting into, trying to help me. You dive in, there may be no getting out.”

“I don’t care. Where you go, I’ll go. Even if we don’t always agree, I won’t let you walk your path alone anymore.”

“You have no idea what you’re getting into, Akira.”

“Actually, I do.” Akira sighed, thumb brushing over Goro’s cheek. “I do know. I know we’re being forced to play some damn game, and we’re supposedly on opposite sides. I also know we have a common enemy.”

“You know about the game?”

“I remember the last loop. Goro, I can’t lose you again,” Akira’s voice quivered. “I’d rather have you shoot me for real, then lose you again.”

“There’s not much of me to save,” Goro mumbled.

“Well, we’ll change that then.” Akira kissed the corner of Goro’s lips, “we will figure this out. Somehow. I know… you likely don’t want to talk to the rest of my team. Not right now, at least. But you can always talk to me. Alright?”

“… you really are incorrigible…” Goro sighed. “… thanks.”

Akira just smirked. He gave Goro a brief hug then turned, “Alright, now to decorate this place some.” He grinned and put one of the pictures on the wall. Upside down. Goro laughed at his antics and moved over, correcting it. Tears in his eyes, but a genuine smile on his face.


	22. Bumpy Road Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the team slowly coming together and the group working things out, they're starting to plan ahead and get things in motion. Only not everything is going smoothly, and not all plans work.

Akira had tried to convince Goro to come to the team celebration with him, on Thursday. Goro had just shook his head, said he didn’t think it was wise at this point. Maybe once Akira had his full team together and had a chance to talk to them all, he’d join a meeting. Though even then, he knew it was bound to be stressful. How could it not? Everything about the situation was stressful. While Akira had insisted the team would listen to Goro, the detective prince still refused.

“I just can’t, Akira. I just… can’t.” He’d shaken his head, then continued straightening the pictures Akira put on the walls.

“It’s alright. Hopefully you can, eventually.” Akira smiled at Goro then chuckled and put another picture up. Crooked. Gaining a groan from Goro. It was all good fun, though. By the end of the evening, the home looked a lot more lived in. Something both guys agreed was a nice change.

The team meeting was a fun one. Instead of everyone going to the buffet like they had done last loop, Akira insisted they do a small potluck instead. Each of them bringing a dish or two to share with everyone. It was no surprise when Ann brought a couple boxes of sweets she purchased, unable to decide just what she wanted so she brought a collection of things. Ryuji brought a pot of veggies and shaved meat. Something his mother had insisted on sending with him. Morgan wasn’t able to bring anything himself, other then his ‘charming good looks,’ as the feline put it. Akira and Sojiro prepared a large pot of curry for the group, along with some rice. Futaba purchased drinks for the group, and made Akira go fetch them for her. While she was doing better, she wasn’t up to being in large groups, or in public, just yet. No matter how she tried to push herself to do it, her palace seemed to be blocking her from being able to push forward.

Even if she knew about the tomb, it was still binding to her in many ways.

As the last of the group arrived for the meeting, the food was set out on the table for them. Futaba curled up on one side, leaning against Akira as she looked over the food that had been brought. “T-this is fun but… would be better if Inari and the others were here.”

“Hopefully we can jog their memories somehow, soon,” Ann sighed.

“Hell yeah. Once we’ve got the whole group together again we can do a proper party,” Ryuji cheered. “Once we finish the pyramid palace thing, we can all go to the buffet together. That’d be a blast.”

“I don’t think we’d have that much money,” Ann frowned at the thought.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. I’m sure we could make that much. Just gotta spend some time in mementos or some shit like that, amIright?” Ryuji chuckled and opened up a can of soda, his smile growing as he heard the fizz. “Not like it’s all that hard to make money in the metaverse. Though…” he frowned some, looking up at Akira. “You talked about the Velvet room place. That costs money to use?”

Akira nodded, “It does. Costs a lot, for higher level persona. That’s where most of my money ends up going,” he admitted. “But at least this loop our equipment from last time managed to carry over, somehow… so that will save us a lot of money in the end. Even if we pick up some new things, our old gear would sell for a lot.”

“A good thing for certain,” Morgana chimed in. “So what are we doing next?” He looked around at the group. “We’re not strong enough to face Futaba’s palace just yet.”

“As much as I’d like to tend that as swiftly as possible, I just don’t see that as an option right now,” Akira agreed. “We’re going to need to do a lot of training. Try to get a lot stronger, swiftly. The faster we can boost our strength the sooner we can help our friends.”

Ann sighed, “So… what? I know I don’t want Makoto to have to get blackmailed again, and the sooner Haru remembers the sooner she can get away from that disgusting fiancé.” She shuddered.

“And Yusuke is still stuck under his mentor right now,” Akira added. “I think we are strong enough to deal with the artist’s palace. If we can trigger Yusuke’s memories early, as well as get Makoto and Haru back… we’d be able to handle that palace a lot faster.”

“Sounds good to me.” Ryuji nodded.

“I know their numbers,” Futaba glanced up from her laptop. “Everyone’s numbers. I can text Yusuke, get him to meet us somewhere. I can text Makoto and Haru too.”

“They might not remember things right off…” Ryuji huffed, then made a loud burp.

“Ug… Ryuji!” Morgana glared at the guy, then puffed his cheeks out. “Just texting them is a good start, but that might not trigger all their memories.”

“So we have them meet us somewhere, and we show them a palace,” Ann shrugged. “That shouldn’t be hard.”

“Maybe meet in front of the shack,” Ryuji mused.

“That’s… a bit of a walk. They might not be willing to meet there,” Futaba shook her head. “I know I c-can’t go there just yet. I don’t think.”

“Mementos,” Morgana suggested. “The subway isn’t far from here, so entering Mementos would be easy.”

“Think you could do that, Futaba?” Akira looked at their hacker.

Futaba chewed her lip a moment then nodded slowly. “I… O-okay. I think… I think I could manage that. Um…” She brushed her hair back from her face absently. “R-right. I’ll manage it. I can do it, I’m sure.” She released a slow breath then nodded. “I- I’ll start messaging all three. Try to prompt a few memories. When should I have them meet in the subway?”

“After school, Saturday,” Akira decided. “That gives us a couple days to prepare.” He frowned thoughtfully, thinking about what happened last time Yusuke’s mentor was arrested. Yusuke had to start staying in the dorms, hadn’t done the best with it either.

“Uh-huh… on it,” Futaba nodded. She smirked as she sent a text to Yusuke, eyes lighting up a bit as she got a response. She snickered and started texting back and forth with him.

“Well, we’ll leave that to the gremlin then,” Akira decided, smirking as he got a thumbs up from Futaba. “We’ll figure this out. One way or another.”

“Right,” Ann, Ryuji and Morgana chorused.

Friday, May 6th passed without anything interesting happening. Akira took time to work at the beef bowl shop. He hated that job, but he knew he had to do it to meet with the politician. Two times at least, and he wanted to make a connection with that man. He was surprised when the man greeted him cheerfully, inviting him to come to his speeches. Akira could have sworn it took two times working to get it, last time.

Morgana just pointed out that it would be weirder if everything went exactly the same each time.

Saturday morning came. Futaba was pouting bad. Makoto had said she was too busy to meet with them, and Haru was confused about why she was being texted. She was willing to come, but her father was having her go to an event. She couldn’t come. Yusuke hadn’t answered just yet. Futaba kept texting the three, trying to get them to come meet. For whatever reason, none of them seemed willing to meet at this point.

“I thought for sure I could get them,” Futaba groaned. “I’ll keep trying. Maybe next Saturday they’ll be willing to meet up.” She huffed, glaring at her phone a moment before downing a swig of her hot chocolate. “But I got something else. The guy that made the phan-site for us? Well, he’s willing to meet us here, tomorrow.”

“Really?” Akira considered that. “If we take him into the metaverse briefly-“

“-it should trigger his memories.” Morgana perked up at the idea. “He got us a lot of jobs last time. If he remembers the ones he confirmed last time, that would save him a lot of leg work. Maybe he’d be able to find us new jobs entirely.”

“And we’d be able to control the polls he puts on the site more, so it doesn’t manipulate us as much,” Futaba added. “We want to give hope, sure, but we _don’t_ want it to be used against us. If someone tries to manipulate it, I’ll know. I’ll track it closer. This way we can see their hand, make them reveal themselves some.”

“Great.” Akira tugged his phone out.

**Akira:** I want everyone to meet up at LeBlanc tomorrow. We’re going to be dipping into mementos, possibly taking Mishima with us.

 **Ann:** That sounds like a great idea to me.

 **Ryuji:** Dude, are you sure? Mishima isn’t really the strongest… he’d get trounced.

 **Akira:** I just want to trigger his memories. If we can do that, it’ll be a huge help to us.

 **Futaba:** Very true! He wants to help out, to let’s let him.

 **Ryuji:** So what time we meeting up?

 **Akira:** Let’s say one. That way we can all have lunch before heading in.

 **Ryuji:** See ya then

 **Ann:** Maybe we can explore some and train, too. That’s be fun. We’ll see.

 **Futaba:** Roger that. Alpha out.

 **Akira:** Alright. Tomorrow, everyone.

Hopefully they’d make some more progress, tomorrow.


	23. Memories and Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mishima's memories are triggered with a trip to mementos, and Akira is left fretting when he has trouble getting in touch with Goro for several days.

Even from the top of mementos they could hear a subway somewhere far below. Mona shuddered as he heard it, the memory of what waited for them far below was vivid in the felines mind. The place he came from. Where Igor was held prisoner.

“So… all those requests I got for you. You solved them here.” Mishima Yuuki scanned the area, then looked down the stairs.

“That’s right.” Joker nodded, moving over to Yuuki and resting a hand on the other guy’s shoulder. “Mementos is the collective unconscious of Tokyo.”

“So that means everyone, or at least almost everyone, has a shadow here,” Yuuki reasoned. “You said if a problem gets big enough a palace forms. So if a palace hasn’t formed yet, you can deal with whatever the issue is, here. Correct?”

“Correct,” Joker confirmed.

“How far down does it go?”

“Dozens of floors.” Mona looked up at Yuuki. “Though we only have a couple floors unlocked so far.”

“And last time, getting better known let you go down farther?”

“Well, that’s what we think,” Mona nodded.

“No,” Joker shook his head. “I don’t think that’s what it was. I’m just not sure what it was, exactly, but that’s not it. Mona, you were able to go all the way to the bottom before, and I know Crow is able to go all the way down. He’s not well known though. So there’s another way to open up the doors. We just need to figure out what that is.”

Skull grimaced. “Sounds like a pain. Just how are we going to do that?”

“I think I’m going to talk to Crow about it,” Joker decided. “See if he has any suggestions.”

“Shit no! Dude, he tried to kill you,” Skull fumed.

“I don’t care.” Joker glared at Skull, “he didn’t want to do it, and he saved us in the end. I consider him an ally. Now stop being an ass and give him a chance. Everyone deserves a chance.” He lifted a hand as Skull started to argue. “I gave you a chance, didn’t I? The vulgar boy that no one at school trusted. The guy with the temper that is constantly sticking his foot in his mouth and causing trouble. Everyone told me to avoid you, but I gave you a chance. You’re one of my best friends now, and a great companion. I was told to avoid Ann. There were dozens of rumors about her. Makoto started out by stalking us for goodness sake, but we accepted her into the group.

Every single member of our group is a misfit in some fashion. Someone that wasn’t accepted in the ‘normal’ populace. So what’s that say about us if we refuse to let Goro in?”

“Fuck…” Skull huffed and scuffed his shoe against the ground.

“But Akechi is the Phantom Thieves rival,” Yuuki was the one to speak up now. “He speaks against us on tv.”

“Do you honestly think he has a choice?” Joker sighed, “If he didn’t speak against us, then he wouldn’t be useful to the enemy, now would he? And if he wasn’t useful…”

“If he wasn’t useful, he’d be killed,” Oracle said. “You remember what Shido’s cognitive version of him said.”

There was silence among the group as the different members looked around at each other, considering that. Then a sigh from Panther. “I still don’t like it. Trying to work with him. But… I… I guess I understand it.” She sighed, “but will he give _us_ a chance?”

“He will,” Joker said firmly. “I believe in him.”

“Tch…” Skull grimaced. “Still think it’s a bad move. That asshole is a mass murderer.” He lifted his hands, “I won’t argue about it with you. Not now at least.” Hopefully Haru and Makoto would back him up on this.

“Good.” Joker nodded, then looked at Yuuki. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m… I’m alright.” Yuuki nodded slowly. “I need some time. To go through all the memories. Make sense of it all. I’ll be more careful with the fan site. It’s for helping people, not about getting people hyped up.”

“Right,” Joker smiled, “Come on. Let’s all head over to the café. I’ll make us some curry.”

“Hell yeah, now that sounds great!” Skull grinned.

Joker chuckled and took them all out of the metaverse. Heading back to the café with them.

The next few days feel like a whirlwind of… silence. Akira tried to get in touch with Goro on Monday, wanting to spend time with the guy. Though Goro never did answer any of the texts. By the time night came around, Akira had sent almost fifteen texts. He did worry that he was bugging the other but… surly not. He was just trying to stay connected… right? And Goro had seemed to enjoy spending time with him. They had that connection.

Tuesday morning rolled around and still nothing from the detective prince. Akira stopped by Goro’s home on the way to school but the home was dark, no one answered the doorbell. He spent most of the day fretting and worrying. Having trouble really focusing on things. It wasn’t until late that evening that Akira finally got a response.

**Goro:** Apologies for the silence. I’m really busy at the moment. Work.

**Akira:** Are you okay? Are you getting enough to eat? Are you resting?

**Goro:** There’s a big case, it’s taking a lot of pushing to get things set up and organized. Don’t worry, I’m alright.

**Akira:** If you say so. Keep me updated, please? I just want to know you’re alright.

**Goro:** You’re such a worrier. I’m fine, promise. Now get some sleep. Exams start tomorrow.

**Akira:** Yeah. Exams that I’ve already taken and aced before.

**Goro:** Goodnight.

**Akira:** Night.

Wednesday was the first day of exams for everyone. Akira felt like he could do them blindfolded at this point. They were boring, and he remembered all the answers. He finished them quickly, handing it in when the bell rang. He checked his phone once out of class, pouting a bit when he saw no word from Goro. On his way home from school he purchased some food, then made his way to Goro’s place. He took a seat in front of the home, reading a book. Just passing the time until Sojiro found him there. Akira left the food on the doorstep for Goro and made his way back to the café with a sigh.

What was going on? Why wasn’t he hearing anything from Goro? Was something wrong? Had Goro been found out? Was he in danger?! Morgana kept meowing at him to calm down, that everything was okay, but he really couldn’t help worrying.

Thursday morning Akira stopped at Goro’s place on the way to school, frowning when he noted the food was still sitting there in front of the door. He sighed and continued to school, sending Goro another text message. Asking if the guy was okay.

He was just sitting down at his desk when his phone buzzed softly. Akira snatched it, looking to see who messaged him. He lit up when he saw a message from Goro.

**Goro:** Crazy busy right now. Ended up working all night. Still at work now. Though I should be able to come over to LeBlanc for supper tonight if things go well today.

**Akira:** Great! I’ll see you then.

**Goro:** Of course.

Akira sighed as the bell rang. He wanted to keep texting the other… but he put his phone away, knowing that he had to focus on exams. Today, and tomorrow then Saterday before exams would be done. Thank goodness it was almost over with. He hated these fool tests. Hmm… maybe he could test out of some classes? Take some different classes or some courses online. It would give him something new to do, at least.

The rest of the day seemed to pass in a rush. Akira chatted with the others after class before hurrying home. Eager to see if Goro would make it tonight. Hopefully he would. When Akira reached the café, Sae Niijima was the only customer there. He paused, watching her a moment before offering her a smile. “Excuse me… you work with Akechi Goro sometimes, correct?”

“I do,” she confirmed. “You’re a friend of his?”

“I am.” Akira nodded. “The past few days he’s been crazy busy. He didn’t even get home from work last night. I was just wondering if you knew what was going on.”

A frown flickered on her face as she heard that. “No, I don’t know what’s happening there. I’ve been pushing to have his hours cut back some. He’s still a minor and has a lot of other things he does. He shouldn’t have to be worrying about work all the time. I’ll have to ask him about that.”

Akira sighed, “Ah… well I hope everything’s alright.” He turned to Sojiro. “He did mention that he’s going try and come over for supper tonight. He didn’t say when he’d manage to get here, though. Mind if I make up a special batch of curry for him?”

Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure, go ahead. I don’t mind. Just wait and do that a bit later, alright? I’m going to close up around six. You can have the kitchen after that.”

“Great.” Akira grinned, then bounded upstairs.

Sae sighed once he was gone. “I wonder just what Akechi is up to. I’ll need to check with him. Sounds like he hasn’t been getting the proper sleep- or the proper food if he’s been spending so much time at the office.” She sipped her coffee.

“Hmm…” Sojiro lifted his newspaper, starting to look at it again.

As Sojiro said, he closed up at six. Goro still wasn’t there by then. The curry was prepared and waiting. Some dessert was prepared as well and set in the fridge to stay cool. Akira sat at the counter. Waiting. Checking the time, checking his phone. He got a message at ten of seven from Goro.

**Goro:** It’s late, and I’m only just getting home. I hope you didn’t wait this late for me.

**Akira:** Of course I waited for you. Come on over so we can eat supper.

**Goro:** … why did you wait this late? I’m sure you were hungry earlier.

_Alibaba has entered chat._

**Alibaba:** Because he has a serious crush on you, you dope. Now please just go eat supper with him and kiss so I don’t have to keep listening to him pouting.

**Akira:** You could turn the bugs in the café off, Futaba!

**Alibaba:** I do not know this Futaba you speak of.

_Alibaba has left the chat._

**Goro:** … that reminds me. I found some information Sojiro and Futaba will want to see. I’m not bringing it over tonight though. Maybe in a few days.

_Alibaba has entered chat._

**Alibaba:** What did you find?

**Goro:** I’ll tell you another time. It’s not on my phone so don’t bother hacking.

**Alibaba:** TELL ME!!!

**Goro:** I’ll see you in a few minutes, Akira.

**Alibaba:** xsdanofienasoa;ldkhgaoiwnegalsnga

Akira laughed, shaking his head. “Honestly…” He smiled and checked the curry, making sure that was hot. He tugged out two plates and dished rice for himself and for Goro. He was dishing the curry as the café bell rang, announcing Goro’s arrival.

“Hey.” Akira smiled, setting the food in front of Goro as the guy took a seat at the bar. “Want some coffee, or tea…?”

“Some tea,” Goro sighed, “I need to get some sleep tonight, and it’s a bit late to be having coffee.”

Akira nodded, preparing the drink for the other. “What’s been keeping you so busy these past few days?”

“Work.” Goro ate a few bites of food, relaxing as he enjoyed the flavor.

“Office work or…?”

“Both.” Goro shook his head. “My boss is being… more demanding… then usual, right now. I’m not sure why, but it’s hard to keep up with everything. Beyond that, I’ve been working on a big case.” He sipped his tea once it was set down. “I was told to stay quiet about it, but don’t be surprised when there’s a surprise assembly at your school tomorrow.”

Akira’s eyebrows lifted. “Really?”

Goro nodded. “Really.” He sipped his tea again then focused on his food once more. Staying quiet as he ate, his mind seeming to wander a bit.

Akira pursed his lips then sighed, relaxing and eating his own food. “Goro,” he waited for the other to look up at him. “You can share anything with me. You know that… right?”

“I know.” Goro’s eyes fell to his food. “Some things are… hard to share, though. Don’t worry though, I’ll be fine. I’m sure I will be.” He ate a few more bites of food.

“A word of caution. Be wary about the new counselor they’re going to introduce. The man is brilliant but… nosy. He’s up to something, but I don’t know just what. He has a persona of his own.”

“He… what?” Akira paused, frowning as he looked at Goro.

“He works as a taxi driver as a part time job, has a degree in counseling as well. Your school is bringing him in to offer counseling to students,” Goro explained. “He remembers the loop. I met him last loop, and he remembered when I saw him this loop. I… I don’t trust him. He’s a nice enough man but there’s just something off…” he shook his head. “I don’t know more then that. Call it a hunch. Just keep that in mind when you talk to him. Please.”

“I will,” Akira assured him. “I’ll let the others know, too.”

“Hmm…” Goro finished his food then rose, as if to leave.

“Hey Goro… spend the night,” Akira urged.

“You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t offer, otherwise.”

Goro’s shoulder’s relaxed. “I… I’d like that. Thanks.”

Akira smiled.

Once the dishes were finished and the curry, and dessert was eaten Akira led Goro upstairs. The two of them watched a movie, Goro falling asleep halfway into it. Akira carried the other to the bed then lay down beside of him. The two settling in for a good night’s sleep.


	24. An Assembly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise assembly is called, and all students are required to attend.

A soft whine escaped as Akira felt movement in the bed. He reached out, arm wrapping around Goro. “Not time to get up yet,” he mumbled, nuzzling against Goro’s chest.

A low chuckle roused Akira further. “You can’t sleep much longer. You do need to eat before you head to school.” Fingers brushed through Akira’s hair, “you have another exam today, after all.”

“The exam is boring,” Akira mumbled, “I already know all the answers. I’m top of my class.”

“Then it would draw attention if your grades dropped suddenly.”

Akira groaned, “Why do you have to make so much sense in the morning?”

Goro smirked, “Someone has to,” he countered. He curled his fingers in Akira’s hair, scratching lightly. Smirk growing as he got a moan out of Akira. “I have to get up too. Work.”

“You work to hard.” Akira sighed, reluctantly sitting up.

“And things are just going to be getting busier. I’ll be spending a lot of time at your school, this coming week.”

Akira perked up a bit at that. “At my school? What’s going on?”

“You’ll find out this afternoon.”

Akira pouted a little, “Can’t you give a hint, at least? Just a little something?”

Goro rolled his eyes and rose, stretching a bit then grabbing his jacket. Tugging it on. “I was very strictly told not to. If word gets to your school before the fact it could mess things up. I expect the assembly to happen around lunch, though. Likely just after lunch. So you won’t have to wait long.”

“If you say so.” Akira rose, taking Goro’s chin and forcing the other to look at him. “You can tell me anything, and I won’t say a word unless you want me to. You do know that… right?”

“…I know,” Goro tilted his head towards Morgana, who was glaring at him. “But your cat likes to talk.”

Akira snorted, then pressed his lips against Goro’s lips, kissing deeply.

A muffled moan escaped as Goro melted into the kiss. Deepening it. One hand came up and tangled in Akira’s hair.

Akira kissed Goro again then broke the kiss with a smirk. “You should be going.”

“Ass,” Goro huffed.

“Yours is better.”

Goro rolled his eyes and gave Akira a playful shove. “We’ll talk more, later. Not sure how busy I’m going to be tonight, though.”

“You best be going then.” Akira teased Goro’s hair, smirking when the other teen smoothed it again. “Don’t forget to get some breakfast somewhere.”

“I won’t.” Goro assured him. He kissed Akira’s cheek then turned, hurrying downstairs and out. Needing to get home and change into a clean outfit, then head to work.

“Yours is better,” Morgana said mockingly. “Ug, feels like I’ve got a hairball just from watching you two!”

“Then don’t watch,” Akira scratched behind Morgana’s ears, smirking as the feline started to purr. Once the feline seemed satisfied he moved to get ready for school.

School itself was boring, as usual. He met Ann and Ryuji just outside the school, chatting with them for a minute before heading inside and to class. The first couple hours of class were full of focusing on exams. Reading the tests and filling in the answers. He would rather be napping… all the information was stuff he’d gone over before.

After lunch the entire school was called to an impromptu assembly. Akira glanced at Yuuki and Ann before rising, making his way to the assembly hall with them.

“The hell?” Ryuji scowled, “What’s he doing here?” He glared at the stage.

“He?” Akira looked towards the stage as well. Spotting Goro standing there, along with several other people. A pair of officers stood to the side, and a tall man that was dressed all official was standing beside of Goro. A man with messy hair and dressed in a white lab coat was standing on the stage as well, to the side. The principle seemed to be in a panic, pleading at Goro, though Goro was ignoring the man.

“The principle looks like he’s going to wet himself,” a kid in front of them snickered. “Wonder what’s got him so worked up.”

“It’s Akechi Goro, the detective prince. What’s going on?” Another kid mused.

Different students chattered, trying to make sense of what was going on.

The man beside of Goro stepped forward, tapping the mic to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone, everyone please quiet down.” He looked around at the gathered students. “The Olympic committee has been alerted to what Kamoshida did while he was employed here. As a member of that committee I apologize to all of you. It should have never happened.

We will be launching a full investigation into his activities. Every student will be spoken to about things, even if your contact with the man was only brief. Therapy will be available. Physical therapy to those that were physically hurt, as well as a counselor for anyone that needs to talk.” He nodded to the man in the lab coat.

“We’re also investigating the school principle-“ there was an audible gasp from some of the students. “- since after everything that happened, the man didn’t try to help the students. Instead he tried to cover up the situation. This is a school. It’s a school’s responsibility to help you students grow and learn. To give you a chance to excel. By ignoring Kamoshida’s crimes, he committed crimes himself.” He glanced at the two cops there and nodded to them.

The principle’s eyes widened. He sputtered and tried to argue as he was escorted out of the room.

Goro nodded, “The teachers will each be questioned as well, so we can get a full understanding of what happened. For anyone that the Olympic committee speaks to, please understand that you’re not being forced to talk. What you share will help put the wrongs, to right, but it won’t be used against you. This is a private investigation. There may be some press that tries to bug you about it, but if they cause you trouble let one of the investigators know and it will be dealt with.

Now, I’ll introduce the councilor,” he motioned to the man. “Dr. Maruki.” He stepped back, letting the counselor come forward.

Maruki smiled, greeting everyone cheerfully. He spoke for a couple minutes on how he’d be providing counseling to different students. Some students were being required to talk to him, though he’d talk to anyone that needed to talk. He assured everyone he would have snacks available, then bowed- hitting his head on the mic in the process. Some of the students laughed at that, though the tension in the air had lowered significantly. If the man had done that on purpose or not was hard to tell, but that little clumsiness made him more relatable to many of the students.

The assembly lasted a little while longer, the man in charge answering a few more questions while Goro and another officer vanished from the stage, seeming to be doing some investigating of their own.

Eventually the students were released from the assembly. Ann, Ryuji, Yuuki and Akira moved outside. Ryuji scowling as they did. “I don’t want to talk to any asshat counselor,” he growled.

“Neither do I. I mean, what would I even talk about?” Ann sighed. “But it’s known that Kamoshida did…” her voice trailed off. “Bet I’ll be one of the people on the list that has to talk to him.”

“Likely we all will,” Akira pointed out. “We all had trouble with him.” He frowned, “Just… be careful about how much you say.”

“Why?” Ann blinked, “I mean, I’m not about to talk about-“ she paused as she saw Morgana glaring. “I’m not going to talk about our jobs,” she assured them.

Akira tugged his phone out, texting.

**Akira:** He has a persona.

**Ryuji:** What, really? Dude! Is he the guy that attacked us? How do you know?

**Akira:** Goro. He knows the guy has a persona.

**Ann:** The guy that attacked us wasn’t that clumsy…

**Ryuji:** He coulda been faking it!

**Akira:** Calm down. We don’t have facts, beyond knowing that he has a persona. Unless he shares as much with us we shouldn’t let it be known that we’re aware. Just be careful with him.

**Futaba:** I’m on the case! I will investigate this new counselor person. Will update you as I find stuff out.

**Akira:** Thanks.

“Excuse me.”

Ryuji jumped as he heard someone talk right behind him. He cursed, turning fast and taking a step back. “T-the hell?!”

Maruki chuckled softly, “Apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just wanted to introduce myself personally.”

“We heard who you are man,” Ryuji huffed, scuffing his food. “The counselor guy.”

Maruki nodded, “And you’re Ryuji, Ann, Yuuki and… Akira.” He paused, “You four are on the list of people I’m supposed to talk to.”

“Dun wanna talk,” Ryuji grumbled.

“We don’t have to, but if you’ll at least visit my office once or twice. If nothing else I can provide free snacks.”

“I ain’t a dog to be bribed with food,” Ryuji scowled.

“Are the snacks sweet?” Ann asked.

“I can make sure to have a few sweets,” Maruki chuckled.

Ann’s eyes lit up, though she bit her lip. “I’ll… think about it. I don’t want to get in trouble for not going.”

“It sounds boring.” Ryuji grunted.

“Free snacks,” Maruki reminded.

“Stop going on about the snacks,” Ryuji sputtered. “Sheesh, alright, alright. I’ll be sure and come sometime.”

“Y-yeah… I’ve already got someone I’m talking to,” Yuuki said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh? Well, at least you’re seeing someone.” Maruki offered him a smile. He passed each of them his card. “Feel free to come talk to me anytime. Alright? Any time at all.”

Akira looked at the card a moment then tucked it into his wallet. “If you say so.”

Maruki offered the group a smile before wandering off, moving to speak to some other students.

Ryuji watched him go then scowled. “This sucks man. I swear, Akechi’s just in this to make a name for himself. He gets all the credit for putting stuff to right here, while we know-“ he yelped as Akira elbowed him. “Hey!”

“Shut it,” Akira hissed. “He’s not in it to make a name for himself. He’s honestly helping out. Last time the Olympic committee never got called in. You should be getting compensated for all your medical bills, and should be getting therapy for your leg. Stop complaining.”

Ryuji grimaced and started to argue. Then he sighed and looked away with a grumble.

Akira rolled his eyes. “Come on. Why don’t we all go out to eat somewhere tonight?”

“Sushi!” Morgana poked his head out of Akira’s bag. “Pleaaase?” He paused, “Um…” he looked over Ann’s shoulder.

“What?” Ann turned, cocking an eyebrow as she spotted Makoto pacing. “She seems… pretty upset.”

Their phones buzzed with a text.

**Alibaba:** I am texting Makoto now. She’s freaking out about what is going on. She’s starting to remembering things. She’s fine. I’ll update you later. I want sushi! Bring me sushi.

Akira chuckled, “Sushi it is. Come on, let’s meet up in front of the school once we’re dismissed. For now, back to class.” He nodded to the others then turned, heading inside again. The others heading back to class as well.


	25. Visiting the Art Display

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are put in place. Goro dresses Akira in his clothes so that Akira looks more formal. Akira and Goro meet up with Yusuke at the art display. Yusuke... is Yusuke.

With Saturday being the last day of exams, the team turned their attention to other matters. Mostly on how to draw the rest of the team back in. With Futaba already working on Haru and Makoto, Akira turned his focus to Yusuke. Getting through to the artist didn’t seem like the easiest. Especially with how focused the guy was on his own art. Even with Futaba texting the artist, he might ignore most of the texts… or be so busy with Madarame that he didn’t have a chance to meet with them. Or didn’t take a chance to meet with them.

This really wasn’t going to be easy.

They headed to LeBlanc so Futaba could join their meeting. With her palace still in play she just wasn’t up to going anywhere yet. Unfortunate, but that couldn’t be helped right now.

“Maybe we could get tickets to go to the art display,” Ann suggested. “Like last time.”

“Awe heck no! Akira, Morgana an I almost got trampled last time we went,” Ryuji whined.

“Look, I found it boring myself, but it was a good way to get in touch with him,” Ann huffed.

“Neither of you are going this time,” Akira said.

“Good,” Ryuji grunted.

“But then, who is?” Ann frowned.

Akira shook his head. “I’ll figure it out. What I want is I want you two to do some shopping for us. We need more healing supplies, and some snacks. If I purchase everything for us, that draws too much attention. Someone would be asking questions eventually.”

“Makes sense,” Ryuji huffed. “I can get stuff at sports shops and shit, since I frequent those places anyway.”

“And I’m always getting snacks.” Ann smiled, “That won’t be hard to do at all.”

“Great.” Akira smiled, “you two handle that this weekend.” He glanced at his phone, lighting up when he saw a text.

“Who are you texting?” Morgana poked his head over Akira’s shoulder, then gagged. “Ug, not more flirting! You’ve got it so bad.”

“Flirting?” Ann perked up.

“Akechi,” Morgana huffed, pouting.

“He’s got two tickets to the art display,” Akira explained. “I’ll be going with him.”

Ryuji scowled and opened his mouth to protest, though the protest died on his lips as he saw Akira’s glare. He huffed, looking away. “Dude, you’re our friend. I don’t want to see you getting hurt by him again.”

“I know.” Akira rolled his shoulders. “I trust him though. I’m giving him a chance. I just want you to do that too.”

Ryuji sighed, “I guess…” he stretched, tilting his head to one side then the other, arms reaching up above his head before relaxing back on the couch, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “So I found a cool place to play darts or do billiards. Maybe once the team’s all together again we could go and hang out there some.”

“Do you even know how to play billiards?” Morgana tilted his head.

“Heck no, but it’d be fun to learn. An I’m good at darts,” Ryuji boasted. “Sides, billiards is like pool, right? Use a stick to hit the balls into the holes. Can’t be that hard to learn.”

“Heh… bet I could beat you at darts,” Morgana boasted.

“You’re a cat, how would you even play darts? Bet you’d suck at it,” Ryuji scoffed.

“Would not! I challenge you to a game first time we go,” Morgana stuck his tongue out at Ryuji.

“Listen here you furball-“

“Furball?! At least I’m not a bonehead!”

“Who you calling a bonehead?”

“You fuzzbrain!”

“Hey, cut it out you two!” Ann scowled, looking at Ryuji then at Morgana. “Sheesh. It’s just a game. We’ll be doing it to have fun, anyway. And it’s not a competition, it’s working together to reach a specific score, right?”

“… right…” Morgana nodded.

Ann nodded, “Then I’m sure we can all have fun with it.”

“Right…” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck.

“Good.” Ann smiled, “Anyway. I need to get going. Ryuji, meet at the underground mall tomorrow? How does ten sound?”

“Sure, sure. We can meet there, then,” he confirmed. He sighed and rose, “I should be headed too. It’s getting late. Night,” he nodded to Akira and the others then headed downstairs.

Akira glanced at Futaba, “Want me to walk you home?”

“Y-yeah. I’m getting better, but…”

Akira just offered her a smile then rose. “It’s fine. I get it. We’ll work through it- one way or another, alright? We’re a team.”

“A team… right.” Futaba nodded, “And w-we’ll get the team together again. Sooner the better.” She nodded.

“Mind keeping Morgana company tomorrow?” He moved downstairs with her and outside, starting to walk back to her place with her.

“Sure! Morgana’s good company. I don’t mind if he stays with me tomorrow.” She was quiet a moment. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Futaba nodded. “Well. If not for you, the whole team would be a wreck so… I’ll do what I can to help. You helped us with stuff, time for us to help you, too.”

Akira smiled, “Thanks.”

“Mmm-hm.” Futaba relaxed as her home came into view, scurrying inside once the door was opened. Akira waited until he was sure she’d locked it then turned, heading back to the café.

Sunday morning was a quiet one for Akechi Goro. He sat in his room, looking at the web of pictures, string, pins and notes that were plastered all over one side wall. His eyes wandering from one image to another. Head tilted to the side as he reached up, tracing one string he’d added last night.

Each clue, each detail, mattered. Unweaving this web of lies and deceit. There had to be a way. He remembered that Madarame had been the target of the phantom thieves, after Kamoshida. He’d visited the man’s palace several times. It had been a early training grounds for him, and always an easy place to get yen. It had caught attention though. Taking out a big target like that had put the Phantom Thieves on Shido’s radar. What could he do, to help? Help minimize the impact?

How could he help Akira stay safer? There had to be something here… maybe if he started an investigation into Madarame officially. He knew a couple detectives he could drop some intel to and they’d run with it. He’d need some decent intel though, maybe even testimony from Yusuke, or some of Madarame’s past students.

The sound of a knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts, as did the buzz of his phone. He glanced down at the phone, eyes lighting up as he saw a text from Akira, the guy saying he was here. Rising, Goro tugged the map down to cover his investigation notes. He put a few things away then moved downstairs and to the door, opening it for Akira. “Good morning.”

“Morning Goro,” Akira grinned, carrying a couple bags to the kitchen.

“You’re up rather early, for you.”

“I am,” Akira agreed. “And I bet you’ve been up a few hours, and still haven’t eaten breakfast.”

“Ah…”

“That’s why I brought breakfast.” Akira started pulling out the food and heating that, as well as taking time to make up some fresh coffee. Goro decided against protesting as his favored coffee was poured for him. His hands wrapping around the warm mug.

“I could get used to this,” he teased.

“I could too,” Akira admitted. “I’d like to do this more often. A lot more often.”

“Mmm…” Goro sipped at his coffee, a soft sigh escaping as he savored it. “I think your friends would be in an uproar if they knew.”

“Maybe some,” Akira admitted. “But not all of them.”

“And you’d still do it, knowing it might push some of them away?”

Akira moved over, lifting Goro’s chin and pressing his lips against Goro’s lips. A light kiss at first, then deepening it. Holding it until he felt Goro melt against him. Lips curled in a smile as he broke the kiss for a breath.

A soft whine escaped Goro as Akira pulled away. He pressed a bit closer, kissing Akira again, wanting that contact.

“There’s your answer,” Akira breathed as they broke apart. “Goro, I love you. I won’t deny it. I…” he swallowed, “d-damn it… you don’t know what it does to me, seeing you hurting. I can’t lose you again. Whatever it takes…”

“It’s not going to be easy, flipping this damn game on its head.”

“But it’ll be worth it,” Akira said firmly. “I… I was thinking. Once my team is totally together again I want you to come to a team meeting. So we can talk about the situation. Get everyone on the same page. Maybe… once they understand what’s going on…” he bit his lip, looking down at his own coffee a moment. “Well, I was thinking. Yusuke doesn’t have a good place to go. Maybe he could move in above the café and… maybe I could move in with you.”

Goro’s eyebrows lifted at that idea. “Move in… with me?”

Akira nodded.

“Would Sojiro agree to that? You’re still on parole…”

“I think he would. Besides, it’s only two buildings down from the café, he could check on us anytime,” Akira insisted.

“… we’ll talk about it, once your team is together,” Goro agreed. “I… maybe. I mean… I’d like it. A lot. Just… we’ll have to see.”

Akira lit up. “Great!” He finished his coffee. “So, anything we should do before heading to the art display?”

“Please tell me you’re going to dress in a different outfit. This is an art display, those tend to be a little more formal then jeans and t-shirt wear.”

“Uhh… I don’t really have anything formal.”

Goro groaned, “Seriously? Well then, leave the dishes for later. We’re going shopping.”

“We are?”

“It’s that, or I dress you in one of my outfits for the day,” Goro tapped his chin. “Actually…” he grabbed Akira’s hand, tugging him upstairs.

“Hey, what are you...!”

A half hour later the two guys were headed to the subway. Akira pouting a little. “How do you wear these?! It’s so… so _hot._ ”

“It is warm, but it’s semi-formal and can be acceptable in any location,” Goro informed him, trying to suppress his snickers. “It looks good on you!”

“I look like you.”

“Exactly. Though your hair is hopeless.”

Akira snorted, “Oh, I know. I’m glad for that at least.”

“If you’d let me work with it an hour or two I _think_ I could have gotten it calmed down,” Goro mused.

“An hour or _two?_ Why would you spend that much time fussing with hair, when it can just get messed up again in less than ten minutes?”

Goro just smirked, “What? I’d think you’d enjoy it.”

Akira started to protest before pausing, thinking that over for a moment. “Ah… well, I suppose you do have a point there,” he admitted.

“See?” Goro relaxed, “After the art exhibit let’s get some food somewhere and head back to the house.”

“Already planning for tonight?” Akira laughed as Goro elbowed him.

“A case I need your help with, actually. But that’s not something to talk about, here.”

Akira nodded as he saw the look. “Right. I got it.”

“Good.”

The art display itself wasn’t hard to get into. Goro showed their tickets and moved inside with Akira. The two of them took their time exploring, looking at the various pictures. Akira commenting on some, Goro on others. Admiring some of the art, sharing little jokes about a few others. They were there for a good hour before Goro spotted Yusuke. The young artist was sitting off to the side, sketching in a notebook. Goro moved a few steps closer, cocking an eyebrow when he saw what Yusuke was sketching. He nudged Akira, then motioned in Yusuke’s direction.

Akira spotted the sketch a moment after, his eyes lighting up as he grinned. He moved over to Yusuke, “Hey,” he smiled, “That’s a good sketch. Who is it?” he looked at the image Yusuke was drawing.

“I don’t actually know,” Yusuke admitted. “It’s a young woman, obviously. I keep thinking I see her. I’ve even dreamed about her at times. She’s often poking fun at me, or yelling at me and calling me ‘Inari’. I’ve not the faintest idea why. Still there is something about her that’s just… inspiring. I can’t seem to get her off my mind. My mentor is displeased… but I can’t help it.”

“Her name is Futaba.” Akira smiled, “I know her, actually.”

Yusuke blinked, then stared off at a nearby wall. “Futaba… what a nice name. Beautiful, but makes me think of someone smart, and mischievous. It sounds so familiar to me, but I can’t place why…”

“If you want, I can introduce you two,” Akira offered. “She’s stuck at her place right now, but I could meet you at your place with some friends, maybe take you to meet her.”

The artist’s eyes lit up at the prospect. “That sounds wonderful, I’ll gladly take your offer.”

“Great,” Akira grinned, “My friends and I will come over, soon as school is out.”

“I look forward to seeing you then,” Yusuke nodded to Akira then went back to his sketching, seeming completely absorbed in what he was doing.

Goro just watched a moment then looked at Akira. “So… are they a couple?”

Akira snickered, guiding Goro away from the artist. “Yes. Though neither of them seem to realize it.”

“Ah.” Goro considered that, “Certainly an… interesting pair.”

“You have no idea,” Akira laughed softly, “I feel like I need to set them up on dates. They’re adorable together, and neither of them seem to get it. You willing to help?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Akira smirked, relaxing as they left the art display and headed back to Goro’s place.


	26. Yusuke Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke rejoins the team!

In some ways it was strange. Standing in front of the ‘shack’ once more. The building certainly looked a bit run down compared to many in the area. Akira grimaced as he remembered the artist boasting about how he actually lived in some condo with a mistress, or something like that. Leaving Yusuke stuck living here. He didn’t remember ever seeing a bedroom, during the times he’d been in this building before. He sometimes wondered if Yusuke just slept in the same room he painted in. He wouldn’t put it past the guy. He remembered Yusuke mentioning he’d ‘slept on worse’ then the couch, that time he stayed over at the café.

The sooner Yusuke was out of this situation, the better. How Yusuke didn’t just pass out from hunger at random intervals was a mystery to Akira. The guy was far too thin, and never seemed to have any money for food. Maybe Sojiro could teach him about budgeting his money, or something. It was needed.

“You sure he’s gonna meet up with us?” Ryuji huffed. “Should we go to the door and knock or something?”

“He’ll be out in a minute,” Akira assured him. “I sent him a text. He’s just finishing something.”

“Dude, if he’s finishing a painting that could take hours,” Ryuji groaned.

“He won’t be long,” Akira assured him.

Ryuji grimaced. “I swear, if he makes us wait-“

“I have no intention of making you wait.” Yusuke sighed, “why is it this foul-mouthed blonde here? I feel like I’ve told him to leave before, yet at the same time I don’t remember ever seeing him before now…”

Ryuji groaned. “The hell man…for real?” He scuffed his shoe, scowling.

Akira shook his head. “Yusuke. You want to see that girl again, right?”

“Of course I want to see her again. She is my muse, I must see her in person!”

“At least he’s earnest,” Ryuji grumbled.

Akira nodded, “Then trust us. We’ve got something to show you.” He tugged his phone out, then entered the key words.

“W-what are you doing?” Yusuke took a step back in shock as the shack transformed into the gigantic museum. “What is this repulsive place…” his voice trailed off a moment. Then his eyes widened, a cry escaping as he sank to one knee, gripping his temples. “This… we’ve been here before. It’s… it’s my mentor’s palace. Why…?” His long fingers curled in his hair, gripping it tightly as an icy mist wrapped around him. Warping his clothing and changing it into his typical thief attire. A low growl escaped as he straightened, eyes narrowing as he looked towards the palace. He tore his mask off, turning and watching as his persona came into view.

“All of this. It’s happened before.” The air around the group seemed to chill, the air becoming frosty. Breath becoming visible as Yusuke’s hands- Fox’s hands- clenched into fists. “All of this. All the pain my mentor put me through before. Why is all of this happening again?! I thought we defeated the villain. I thought we were going to move on with our lives. So why…?” He sucked in a breath, eyes searching the faces of the other thieves.

“Panther… Skull… Morgana… Joker.” His eyes wandered over them a moment. “Is…” he swallowed hard, his voice lowering to a whisper. “Is Oracle alright?”

“She has her palace again,” Morgana sighed. “We’ve confirmed it, but we’re not strong enough to take care of it just yet.” His ears drooped, “we don’t know what’s going on, either.”

“Mmm…” Fox frowned, scanning the area. “And I doubt we’re at the strength to deal with this today.”

“There may be a different way to deal with this place,” Joker hesitated, “But I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Another way?” Fox cocked an eyebrow. “Explain.”

“Not here.” Joker shook his head. “Come on. Let’s leave this place and head over to LeBlanc.” He offered Fox a smile, “While she does have a palace, she also has her persona. She has her memories back. She can’t travel far in public just yet, but she can meet with us at LeBlanc.”

“Then by all means, let us depart.” Fox nodded.

Joker chuckled and used the ap to leave.

Back in reality, Yusuke glanced at the shack then sighed. Turning and heading to the nearest subway with the others.

Yusuke spotted Futaba at the counter as they reached the café. His eyes lit up and he strode over to her, giving her a hug. Futaba squeaked in surprise and squirmed some. “I-Inari! Can’t… breath!”

“I’ve been so worried about you! Even without my memories clear you’ve been on my mind. Are you alright? Are you okay?” He released the hug, cupping her cheek and making her look up at him. “You’re not hurting at all are you?”

Futaba huffed and punched him lightly. “I’m fine! Sheesh Inari, this isn’t the end of the world.”

“But it could be. Last time with your palace you were-“

Futaba huffed and shoved a piece of bread in his mouth. Yusuke blinked then started to chew, not wanting to waste food and wanting to be polite. “I know. Honestly, Inari.” She sighed, “not everything’s okay yet,” she admitted. “But stuff is getting better. And since I have my memories this time, it’s not as bad as it was. I can um… do stuff.” She nodded, “We’ll figure it out.”

“Why don’t you all sit down? Akira, flip the sign to closed,” Sojiro ordered. He took orders for coffee and curry, then got to work preparing the drinks and food. Having Akira help him. “They took me into that realm to. Heh… can now hear a cat talk.” He sighed, “we’ll figure it all out. Somehow. Anyway. Yusuke, Akira asked my about this. But if you need a place to stay, you’re welcome to stay here.”

Yusuke frowned, “But Akira stays here. Is there really room for both of us? I feel like it would be an inconvenience to him.”

“Morgana would still be here, but…” he frowned, looking at Akira.

“Akechi lives two buildings down… I’m going to move in with him.” Akira took a sip of his coffee.

“For Real?!? Dude, that’s insane! That ain’t right,” Ryuji sputtered. “He tried to kill you damn it. First you’re being nice to him, and all buddy buddy, and now your moving in with him?” Ryuji shook his head. “He’ll kill you in your sleep!”

“How are things coming with the others?” Yusuke asked curiously. “With Makoto and Haru? Do they have their memories back yet?”

“Not yet,” Futaba sighed, “working on it.”

“For real guys? You’re just ignoring the huge issue here?’ Ryuji spat.

Sojiro sighed. “I tried to talk him out of it, but he’s set on it.” He frowned, “It’s his choice to make. Not yours. If that’s what he honestly wants to do you should be supporting him, not throwing a fit. He’s supported you through whatever you put him through.”

“… why though?” Yusuke looked at Akira curiously. “What’s happened that you trust him enough to do this?”

“I’ve made it a point to get to know him earlier. And… I just do.” Akira sighed, “Some of it is things he’d have to explain. Not my place. Once the whole team’s together I plan to bring him to one of our meetings.”

Ryuji stared at Akira a moment, mouth gaping open like some cod fish. Ann rolled her eyes and reached over, closing his mouth. Making him sputter some. “You don’t think it’s right either, do you Yusuke?”

“Passion comes in mysterious ways,” Yusuke made a frame with his fingers, looking at Futaba through it. “I’m with Akira on this. I remember what Akechi did for us, at the end. He was being used as a tool… much like my mentor is using me.”

Ryuji groaned. “Crazy. You’re all crazy.”

“Things with my mentor will need to happen before I can move in here, but I’d gladly take that offer.” Yusuke offered Sojiro a smile. “You have my sincerest thanks.”

Sojiro just grunted and turned, starting to dish food for everyone and having Akira help him pass it out. “Hey, you need a place to stay, and there’s room here.”

“Mmhm. There sure is,” Futaba agreed. She’d had to convince Sojiro to let Yusuke stay. It took a while, but he’d eventually caved in and agreed. Though she still didn’t understand the look Sojiro and Akira had exchanged… “Anyway! I don’t think it’ll take much longer to get Haru and Makoto back into the team. Things are looking up.”

“You mentioned there being another way to deal with…” Yusuke’s voice trailed off as he looked at Akira.

“If an investigation against the man is launched, he’d be exposed that way,” Akira pointed out. “Goro is willing to do that. He’d need your testimony… names of other students hurt. Any information you can give- the more the better. But he knows some honest detectives that would investigate and arrest the man. Without us needing to actually change his heart. That means less risk to us, less exposure to the public. Less of a target on us. It also means more time to train, so we can take out the bigger targets, sooner.”

Yusuke pursed his lips as he considered it. “I see.” Fingers wrapped around his coffee mug, eyes drawn to the steam rising from it. “Is it wrong that I want to go and pound the man’s shadow? That I desire vengeance for what he did to my mother?”

“No, that’s not wrong.” Akira sighed, “That’s just… human.” He heard Futaba snort. “If we steal his heart, the man’s deemed insane and none of his students were ever compensated for what he did,” he pointed out. “But if the investigation happens and he’s caught that way, he can’t claim madness as a defense. He would have to compensate you for the harm he caused.”

“Compensate me?” Yusuke glanced at Akira, looking puzzled.

“Basically he’d owe you a shit ton of money,” Futaba said cheerfully. “Oh, and pretty sure since you lived in the shack so long you’ve got squatters rights. So legally, you could make a claim on it.”

“Really…” Yusuke considered that. “I’d need to remodel it. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep comfortable there again, the way that it is now. Still… what a fascinating concept…” he nodded slowly. “Hmm… so be it. I’ll let Akechi have a chance at this. If he can come through, that would have the better result.”

Futaba gave him a thumbs up.

Ryuji groaned, his shoulders sagging before his head thumped against the counter. “This can’t be happening…”

“I think there’s more going on with Akechi then you realize.” Sojiro finished passing out the food and drinks. “Just… give him a chance. Like Akira is. I know most of you don’t like him but… hrm…” he rubbed his chin. “Well, before you judge a person, try to find their motivation. The reason behind the action. Though enough of all this serious talk for now. Eat up. I’ve got something for dessert ready too, if you kids would like that.”

“Oooh, dessert? Count me in!” Ann grinned, then dug into her meal. The rest of the team soon doing the same.


	27. Drawn In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru is drawn back into the group.   
> Ryuji... is Ryuji.

Spirits were up Tuesday morning, thanks to Yusuke being on the team once more. Even if the young artist was eccentric and a bit odd, he brought flavor to any situation and could be counted on when things got tough. Akira knew that the memories were still hitting the artist hard, and it may take a few days for the guy to really calm down from all the information he’d learn. Still, it was a start. The team was almost whole.

As he walked onto the school grounds that Tuesday morning he spotted Haru lifting a large bag of gardening soil. Several others piled on the ground not far from her. He frowned, then moved over. “Need a hand?”

Morgana peaked out of Akira’s bag, a happy purr escaping as he spotted Haru.

“Oh,” Haru paused, then nodded. “Yes please. I would appreciate that. I need to get these six bags up to the roof… someone else was supposed to do it, but they called in sick today.” No one else wanted to handle moving the bags around, and she certainly didn’t mind. It was a job that needed to be done, and she could do it.

“If you try to do all six you’re apt to be late for class.”

“Even with help, I’m apt to be late to class,” Haru chuckled, “But my teacher’s aware, at least.” She shifted her grip on the bag she’d already lifted, then grabbed a second one.

“Mmm… pretty sure Kawakami won’t mind.” Akira lifted one bag, eyebrows lifting a bit when he realized how heavy it was. He grunted, then lifted a second bag. “There… we go. We’ll only have to make two trips this way.”

“Oh my… don’t try to carry too much,” Haru scolded, sounded worried.

“Piece of cake,” Akira assured her. He could hear Arsene chuckling at him as the bags suddenly felt lighter than before. Huh… so his persona could help him in the real world too, some. Good to know. “We best get moving.” He offered her a smile then headed for the stairs, making his way up to the roof with her.

“It’s strange,” Haru murmured. “It feels like we’ve done this before… but I don’t think I even know you. You’re new to the school, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Akira admitted, “I rather enjoy gardening though. I’d be glad to help you out with it some, if you need.”

“Oh? That would be wonderful.” She beamed at the idea, “There used to be a full garden club, but with it not getting people scholarships, no one wanted to participate. So I’m the only one in it.”

“Well, now I’m in it too,” Akira said cheerfully.

The bags were set in a pile near the garden area, then the two made their way downstairs once more. Grabbing the last of the bags that needed to be carried.

“Hey, Akira,” Morgana meowed, “Ask her if she remembers me. Come on, maybe that will prompt something.”

Haru gave the feline a sharp look, studying him a moment before looking ahead again. Carrying the bag to the roof. She was silent until the roof door closed behind the two of them. “Um… did the kitty just talk?”

“Wait, she can understand me? Hello! Haru, yeah, I’m talking. You can hear me? That’s great! Come on, I’m sure you remember me. Kind, handsome, dashing~.”

Haru lifted Morgana out of Akira’s bag, looking at the feline curiously. “The kitty really is talking…” she hugged Morgana absently. “I’m sorry kitty I don’t remember…”

“Awww….” Morgana pouted.

Akira sighed as the bell rang. “After school I’ll have Morgana show you something, alright? He’ll wait for you outside the building. Please follow him.”

Haru scratched behind Morgana’s ears, smiling as the feline started to purr. She set him back inside of Akira’s bag. “Alright. I’ll follow the kitty, later. We best get to class.” She nodded then turned, quickly moving back inside.

Akira smiled. Finally… things were looking good. If Morgana could get her into the metaverse, then all that would be left was getting Makoto in. The team would be together again, soon.

As the school day continued, different students were called to the student conference room through the day. Akira wasn’t called in, not yet at least, but he saw Yuuki called in. Later on Ann had to go in. Other students in his class as well. It was only a matter of time before he would get called in to do an interview as well. Though the last school bell rang before that happened.

Breathing a sigh of relief he rose, letting Morgana slip into his bag before lifting it and resting it over his shoulder. He headed downstairs and outside, texting the group to meet in mementos. He let Morgana out at the school entrance, then headed to mementos himself. Trusting Morgana to bring Haru along.

He was the first one to arrive in mementos. Ryuji soon joined, followed by Ann moments later. Yusuke was another ten minutes before he arrived. No Haru, yet.

“Akechi is helping with those interviews,” Panther groaned. “Not all of them, but he was in another room, interviewing one of the teachers.”

“Seriously?” Skull grimaced. “I swear that guy-“ he paused as he saw Joker looking at him intently. He huffed, kicking the ground with a grumble, but not saying anything more.

Joker nodded, glad that hadn’t escalated this time. He really needed to find a way to reign Ryuji in some… get the guy to at least give Goro a chance. How though? It seemed like the blonde was fighting him at every step when it came to Goro.

“Kitty, slow down!” Haru called, following Morgana into the metaverse. She paused, blinking and looking around as she noticed the sudden change, and spotted the group. She stared a moment, then looked down at the feline standing on two legs. “… kitty…?” She crouched, reaching over and giving Mona a scratch behind the ears. “This… all seems familiar. Why though?” She straightened, looking the group over.

Mona smiled, “Well, do you remember the code names? Do you remember helping us on a giant ship?”

Haru considered that a moment, then frowned. “Shido’s palace. I… yes. It’s coming back to me but that… that was all the way at the end of the year.” Her brow furrowed as she looked around again. “Mona… Skull, Panther… Fox and Joker. Um… where are Queen and Oracle? What’s going on? Did we go back in time somehow?”

“Somehow, time looped back,” Joker confirmed. “Oracle still has her palace. We need to get stronger, fast. So we can help her as quickly as possible. Queen… well…”

“We’re still considered problem kids to her,” Skull scoffed. “So she’s not paying attention to anything we say, or try to text her. We haven’t been able to get her in here.”

Haru frowned, closing her eyes a moment. She sucked in a slow breath, a pained hiss escaping as her outfit changed to her typical metaverse outfit. “Well then. I can assist with that at least. Makoto-chan and I do see each other in class. I can tell her I saw something troubling, and I need to show her. She would follow, I’ve no doubt of that.”

“Yeah… and you’ve got a good reputation at school. She’d listen to you,” Panther sighed softly. “It’ll be nice to have the whole team back.”

Joker nodded in agreement. “The full team. Not just part of it, either.”

“We are _not_ letting Crow come with us,” Skull sputtered. “We make all choices as a group right? I don’t want to work with that guy.”

“Wait, what do you mean? Why are we talking about Crow?” Noir frowned, puzzled by that.

“Joker wants to bring Crow back into the group, like he was in Sae’s palace.” Skull grimaced. “You know, where that guy was blackmailing us into doing it, then set us up to be captured? _That_ whole incident?” He turned to Joker, “You seriously think Noir or Oracle would work with him? That guy killed Noir’s father, and Oracle’s mother! Not to mention, trying to kill you.”

“We don’t know that,” Joker snapped. “We don’t know for sure he’s the one behind those. What we do know is that if he doesn’t do those things, he’s the next one dead. I gave you a chance, didn’t I? So why shouldn’t I give him one?”

Noir frowned, pursing her lips as she thought a moment. “I think we need to speak to Crow directly. I… I don’t feel comfortable with how he killed my father but at the same time…” her voice trailed off. “Father was, more or less, selling me into slavery. While I do wish to save him, I’m not sure what’s left to be saved. In the end… Crow is inside Shido’s group. If he is willing to work with us, maybe that will give us a chance to take Shido’s entire party down, not only the man himself. We missed something. Time wouldn’t have looped, if we tied up all the loose ends. We need to figure out what we missed.”

Joker smiled at Noir gratefully, then nodded. “Once Makoto’s back, I plan to set up a meeting for all of us, in LeBlanc. Boss is aware of this place now- and he can hear Morgana talk.

I don’t know what needs to happen going forward, but something needs to change. If giving Crow a chance this time doesn’t work, then we’ll know it for next time. Still… we have to figure it out. Somehow.”

Noir nodded, “And we will.” She thought a moment, then smiled. “I could really use some of Boss’s coffee about now… would Oracle be able to meet us at the café?”

Joker nodded, “She’s waiting for us there.”

Noir lit up, “Then let’s go.” She left the metaverse, waiting for the others to follow then moving to LeBlanc with the group.


	28. Back Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen finally has her memories back. The team is whole once more! Though there is a serious talk about what they need to do, going forward... one that not everyone is happy about.

**Tuesday May 17 th, 9:02pm**

**Akira:** Hey Goro. Just checking in to see how you’re doing. We haven’t had a chance to really talk in a few days. Everything going alright?

**9:08pm**

**Akira:** I heard you’re helping out at the interviews at my school. I guess that’s keeping you pretty busy. I hope you’re getting some sleep at least. I don’t want you to get sick.

**11:01pm**

**Akira:** Guess you’ve had a crazy day. Hope you sleep well tonight. Please text me soon, I miss you.

**Wednesday May 18 th, 7:10am**

**Akira:** Getting ready for school Have you had breakfast yet? I can bring you something.

**7:40am**

**Akira:** I checked and your not home. Hope everything is okay. I’ve got to head to school or I’d stay at your place and wait for you.

**9:45am**

**Akira:** Hey. I spotted you outside my classroom. How are you doing?

 **Goro:** Okay. Busy. Sorry for not answering. I’m swamped with stuff at the moment. You’ll be called into the student council room at 1, after their lunch break. They want to know if Kamoshida did anything to you, and your thoughts on the man. Warning, they may bring up the fact you’re on probation.

 **Akira:** That’s not a surprise at all.

 **Goro:** Thankfully your teachers have all spoken well of you, and you have good grades. They really can’t push much without getting in trouble, themselves.

 **Goro:** Also. I got Morgana registered as a therapy cat for you, as well as for Futaba. I have the license with me. I’ll meet you just outside the student council room and give it to you. That also comes with a subway pass so he can always travel with you wherever.

 **Akira:** Thanks. That’ll make things a bit easier. See you soon handsome.

 **Goro:** See you soon, flirt.

Akira smiled, then tucked his phone away when he noticed Kawakami giving him a look. He just smiled at her innocently, answering the question she fired in his direction. The rest of the class went by quickly enough.

Lunch was enjoyed on the roof with Haru, Ryuji, Morgana, Ann and Yuuki. Haru confirmed that she’d spoken to Makoto some, and would be going to the subway with her after school. Certainly some good news, there.

After lunch went just as Goro had said. At 1:00 Akira was called out of the classroom. He rose, letting Morgana get out of his bag then moving to the student council room. He couldn’t help the smile that lit up his face when he spotted Goro. He thanked the detective prince softly as the license, and subway pass was handed over. Those were tucked into his wallet.

He moved into the student council room as Goro held the door for him. Taking a seat at the table. He set his bag on the desk, relaxing a little as Morgana moved onto his lap. The feline seeming to understand just how this situation needed to be played.

“I don’t think cats are allowed on school grounds,” the investigator sitting across from him frowned, looking rather puzzled.

“He’s a therapy cat.” Akira rubbed under Morgana’s chin, his shoulders relaxing as he heard the feline purr. “He’s all registered as one.”

“I… see.” The man paused, seeming at a loss.

“I’ve interviewed this man in the past,” Akechi spoke up, looking at the investigator. “Regarding his parole, among other things. The charges against him were false ones, but you know how hard it is to overturn false charges. He went through a rather traumatic experience, due to those false charges.”

Akira nodded, eyes falling. “I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with it. Kamoshida targeted me. He leaked my records, made sure to threaten me. Even claimed he’d have me kicked out, when I didn’t do a thing wrong. All I’ve done is tried to stay out of people’s way, and get good grades. I’m even top of my class.”

“He shouldn’t have even had access to your records. At your age…” the man frowned as he considered that. “Did he ever strike you?”

“No. I did my best to avoid him, so he wouldn’t get a chance.” Akira sighed, “After seeing how beat up the volleyball team looked, I thought it best to avoid him.”

The man nodded, jotting down a few more notes. “I see. Anything else you’d like to talk about?”

Akira looked up at the man, hesitating some. “I… sorry… no. If I think of anything else I might talk to Akechi. He’s… more my age.” He frowned.

Akechi nodded and glanced at the investigator. “It may be best to let him go. I doubt this interview is bringing good memories.”

The investigator grunted, then motioned with his hand. “Fine then, go on. But if anything does come up, contact the detective prince.” He rolled his eyes, “his highness can handle things for you, I’m sure.”

“Thank you, sir,” Akira breathed. He rose, moving out of the room quickly like some scared kitten. Inwardly he was cracking up. He doubted Goro liked being called ‘highness’, but it had made him want to grin. It had gone far better than he expected. He could hear the investigator complaining to Goro and asking why he hadn’t been told Akira had already been interviewed. Goro’s response that he had been told made a brief smirk appear on Akira’s face before he wiped that away. He let Morgana back into his bag and returned to the classroom, honestly pleased with how that had gone.

After school the team met up in mementos once more. This time waiting on Noir and Makoto… Queen… to show up. It was a good half hour before they finally heard the voices coming their way.

“You said some of the students are having trouble down here?” Makoto’s voice was questioning. “Why down here of all places, and what were you doing checking in this area? I don’t think I’ve ever been in this part of the subway before… where are all the people?” There was a pause, “… Haru, why aren’t you in school uniform?”

“Just a moment more Makoto-chan. The others can explain it better then I can,” Noir responded softly. It was only a moment more before Haru and Makoto came into view.

A surprised and startled squeak escaped Makoto as she saw the group in strange outfits. “W-what is this, some weird cosplay thing?”

Noir sighed, resting a hand on the brim of her hat and tugging it down slightly. “Makoto… no, in here we called you Queen. Doesn’t that name sound familiar to you at all?”

There was a frown before Makoto straightened. “Yes. It is coming back to me now…” she turned, pacing a way for a moment before returning. Studying the group a moment then looking down the stairs into mementos. “Those other students were all getting hurt by…” her eyes widened as it came back to her. “Kaneshiro! We need to-“

“Calm down,” Joker ordered, watching as the other teen’s outfit returned. “We’ve got this. We’ll be doing things a bit differently this round. We’ve got another ally-“

“No we don’t,” Skull mumbled. He yelped when Panther kicked him.

Queen just gave them a look. “You never have a plan on how to get in or out,” she scolded. “You don’t think things like that through. I’ll be taking charge on tactics and-“

“No.” Joker frowned, “Queen, this is my team. Not yours. You’re a part of it yes, but just shouting out advice isn’t always useful. Don’t treat us like idiots. We all remember what happened last time, now. We’re making some changes. Doing things differently. We missed something the first time. Somehow time looped back.”

“Then we need to analyze what happened and make sure to bring justice this time,” Queen frowned, “Why haven’t you been making a name for yourself this time? How are you getting deeper into mementos without doing that?”

“We haven’t gone deeper yet,” Joker admitted. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“Then we need to make a name for ourselves. Make sure people recognize us for the justice-“

“Will you quit it with the justice?” Joker shook his head. “That’s not what we’re about.”

“Of course it is!”

“If that’s what you think it’s about, then you’ll have to sit this one out,” Joker said firmly. “We’re Phantom _Thieves._ We aren’t justice. ‘Justice’ isn’t what we’re going for. We’re going after doing the right thing. The right thing isn’t always just. You want to get technical? Justice is a person getting what they deserve. But in this day and age, it’s the law force that enforces justice. Not people like us. If you’re all about justice, how about justice for stalking us, blackmailing us, and putting us in danger.” Joker turned, looking the group over. “There’s a difference between personal justice- what Yusuke got when Madarame was taken out- and justice as the world sees it. Either way, what we’re doing isn’t justice… but its right.

I’m telling you right now, we’re not trying to bring justice. We’re trying to do what’s right. There’s a big difference.”

Queen frowned, “But we’re bringing justice to people, and-“

“No.” Joker turned, “And stop trying to rule over me. I’m tired of it. There’s a lot more involved then any of you realize. _Think._ Remember the Velvet room. Igor. The attendant. Remember all that? The real Igor is the one that pulled me into this, before that fake one took him out. The only reason you all have the metaverse app is because of your connection to me.” He looked around at them. “We want to do this. We want to do the right thing for people. So, here’s the plan. We stay quiet, work on keeping out of sight as we work. Instead of me doing all the legwork and confirming different jobs, we all need to keep our eyes and ears open. Pay attention to what’s going on. We’ll find plenty of things to do in mementos, that way.” He glanced to the side, lips pursing a moment. “We need to move forward, without making ourselves a target.

Claiming we’re ‘heroes of justice’ or some shit like that just puts a target on us. It’s prideful… and a lie. We aren’t working for justice.”

Queen huffed, but for now didn’t argue. It wasn’t hard to see she wasn’t happy with this, though. “So. Now what?”

Joker released a slow breath, thankful she’d listened. Or at least pretended to listen. He would have to keep an eye on her. It wasn’t hard to see she didn’t agree with him. “For today, let’s run through the first floor in mementos, just to get back into the flow of things. We still have our old weapons and armor thankfully, so that’s a huge boost. Right now we’re trying to get stronger so we can go help Oracle. Her palace is still in place.

Now that the team’s together, I’m going to set up a meeting. Have Crow come talk to us. Then-“

“No.” Queen scowled, “I don’t want him to meet with us. He’s just going to cause us trouble.”

“Finally!” Skull huffed.

“We are giving him a chance,” Joker said firmly. “We gave you a chance, didn’t we? Even after what you did.”

“I didn’t try to kill you,” Queen snapped.

“No, but your actions almost did,” Joker countered. “This is a new loop. A new chance. I’ve been talking to him some. I want to bring him in.”

“He’s messing with my sister,” Queen sputtered. “I don’t know what he’s done but he’s gotten her to become his guardian. I’ve been stuck having him visit at the house, or having sis go off to meet with him for something for weeks. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

Joker was quiet a moment as he considered that, then he shook his head. “Then we can ask him about that, when we meet with him. If you can’t give him a chance, then I don’t want you on the team. That goes for everyone here.”

Queen stared a moment before turning and slamming her fist against the wall. “I think it’s a foolish move. I’ll be keeping a close eye on that murderer.”

Joker rolled his eyes. “Don’t cause trouble,” he warned. “I don’t want trouble. I want another ally. You all keep focusing on the negative, but in the end… Sae was saved, because he brought her palace to our attention. You knew about it Makoto, but you wouldn’t tell us about it. I never understood why. Why you didn’t alert us about her palace from the start, when you knew she had one.

Crow wanted to help her. Yes, it was used to catch us but we got around it- and in the end he sacrificed himself to save us. Are you really going to forget that? We would have never survived, if he hadn’t done that.” He sighed, “Forget the mementos run today. Next few nights I want you to all think about that. Seriously think about why we’re doing this. You each came into your persona for a reason. Last loop we all got so caught up in ‘justice’ that we lost track of our reasons.

Focus. Pay attention to what your persona is saying to yourself. Find yourself again. Take time to clean your weapons and your armor. Think through what happened last loop, and what we can do to improve this time. I’ll let you all know when I’ve got the meeting set up. I expect you all to be there.” He looked around, making sure to meet the eyes of each team member.

“You are my team, but also my friends. I want to put an end to this damn mess somehow, and I don’t want to lose any of you. We need to work together if we’re going to get this done. We each have talents different from the next. We each have things we can do, things that we pick up on, that can help show us what the heck is going on.”

Queen let out an exasperated sigh. “Right… you’re right. Fine, we’ll meet in a few days.”

The other team members agreed. One by one they left mementos, heading off. All of them deep in thought.


	29. Goro gain's another arcana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running on little sleep and whirling thoughts, Goro manages to gain another arcana.   
> ... though he's still not even sure what that is supposed to mean.

Goro was tired. After all the interviews with the students at the school, interviewing teachers, taking notes, getting eaten out by the older investigator for things that, in the end, had no actual influence on the case and were things the investigator himself had done… he was tired. It had been well past ten when he finally got home Wednesday night, and hours later he was still up, working on his own private case. Noting down details he knew about Shido, and the others in the man’s party. Working out the connections and the links. Trying to see if there was any clue at who the black mask user was.

Nothing. He was getting… nothing.

At least, nothing there.

He had found some interesting information about his father. Something unexpected. Really, he shouldn’t be surprised. The fact Shido had him and never acknowledged him or assisted his mother should have been a clue but still… learning that he had a half sister was a surprise, even with that asshole’s record.

How many others had Shido hurt, because he couldn’t keep it in his pants?

How many other kids were turned into orphans, because their father made sure their mother was killed?

Goro could only hope it was only himself, and this one other.

It presented him with an issue though. Did he tell her, or no? In some ways he wanted to. In others… he didn’t know if she’d accept it. She already had reason to hate him, why would she give him a chance?

No one ever gave him a chance.

Well… no one besides Akira. No… Sae was now, as was the doctor. Those three knew his past, but didn’t scorn him for it. Maybe… maybe telling Futaba the truth wouldn’t go as horrible as he was imagining.

…

Who was he kidding? She likely though he’d killed her mom. He’d been out of town at the time, or maybe he would have been ordered to. He still didn’t know who’d done it, in the end. Though with how that damn black mask kept popping in…

Who else did his father have working for him?

Who was this stranger? This threat?

He hated not knowing. Not having any solid clues. In some ways it was downright maddening.

A low groan escaped as Goro rubbed his face. He rose from his desk, closing the folders and moving to the bed. The soft bed was a welcome feeling beneath him as he collapsed onto it. His eyes closing moments later.

Thursday, May 19th.

Goro woke to the sound of his alarm clock, a groan escaping as he reached over, fumbling for his cell phone before finding it and turning the alarm off. A sigh escaped as he sat up, rubbing his eyes then looking down at the screen of his phone. Sight a bit blurry as he unlocked the phone and glanced through the messages he’d gotten overnight. Ten different jobs from Shido… the man was getting bloodthirsty and trying to do too much at once. He’d have to talk to the man about it. Hopefully that would go well. Most likely not, though.

A sigh escaped as he saw a text from Sae. Lips pursed as he read it, then read it a second time. She wanted to meet up today. She was bringing Tae… and Shiho. Shiho was being checked on by Tae, today. She was asking what would be a good time for him.

“Never,” Goro groaned. “I never have a good time.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair before responding. Asking if Shiho had school or not. When he got a ‘no’ for a response, he said he could meet them at Tae’s clinic, at ten.

His phone was tossed onto the bed as he rose, moving to put on his cheerful, charismatic mask for the day.

He was getting sick of it. Just… sick of it all.

He arrived at Tae’s clinic promptly at ten, just as he’d said. The sign on the door said it was closed today, but Tae, Sae and Shiho were all waiting for him inside. He greeted them softly, watching as Tae closed the door behind him and locked it. “So, what’s this about?” He looked around at them.

“I… they…” Shiho frowned, “I gained a persona,” she said after a moment.

“When? How?” Goro took a seat, wondering how this pertained to him.

“I wanted to visit you. Talk to you about what happened when we visited that… that pervert’s castle.” Shiho grimaced, “I wasn’t sure where to look but I thought Akira might know. So I headed to LeBlanc. I ended up pulled into the metaverse when these two were entering…” she glanced at the adults.

Tae sighed, “I was going to go check on your shadow. He’s doing a lot better, but he’s still healing. I didn’t expect anyone to be around at that hour. I was careless. She managed rather well, though. The shadow she ended up fighting, your shadow gave her instructions on what to do. She was able to defeat it surprisingly easily.”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t that easy,” Shiho argued. “It was a bit of a rush but… it was different.”

Goro frowned, “So she’s been inside my palace.”

“I have. Briefly.” Shiho looked down at her hands a moment before steeling herself and looking up to meet Goro’s gaze, “I know you’re not the sort to ask for help. I know you don’t want to get others involved, or put others at risk. I also know you’ve done a lot of bad things… but that you didn’t have a choice. Not really. With Kamoshida I just put up with the shit he did, thinking that would keep Ann protected. It didn’t though. Just ignoring the bad… it didn’t help. I… I don’t know what I can do to help, but I want to help. I can’t just stay back and do nothing, now that I know what’s going on. So… so let me join your team. Please.” She bowed slightly, “Akechi, let me join your team.”

Goro stared, processing this a moment. In the back of his mind he could hear a faint voice speaking. _‘I am thou, thou art I…”_ his lips moved silently as he spoke the words. He’d heard those same words when Sae became his guardian, and when Tae had been brought into his palace that first time. Though he was still struggling to understand them. He knew they were important, but he didn’t know why- and it wasn’t something he was about to ask Igor. Not when that being seemed to be running the game and just messing with everything.

Arcana… they were his… arcana. What did that mean, though? Maybe Akira would explain. He’d have to ask, next time they were able to get together.

“Alright.” Goro released a slow breath. “I’m not… used to working with a team. Mostly we’ll be working on my palace. Trying to figure out how to get through it. The Phantom Thieves seem to target many of the major places, so we don’t need to bother with those. I can’t do it every day, but we go in when we can.”

“I understand.” Shiho nodded, her face set in a determined expression. “Can we go in now?”

“Now?” A sigh escaped, “I… yes. I have nothing scheduled for today at least. I’m going to be busy tomorrow, but things can wait until then.”

“We can enter from here,” Sae suggested. “It’ll be a little bit of a walk, but no chance of anyone noticing us.”

Goro pursed his lips then nodded. “Fine,” he tugged his phone out, tapping the ap. The four of them soon entering his palace.


	30. Override

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shido is determined to override whatever plans Goro had for the weekend with a long list of orders.   
> Futaba has fun hacking the subway... and other things.

With how busy Thursday had been, Goro had desperately hoped for a break from everything on Friday. That wasn’t to be, unfortunately. The detective prince found himself in Shido Masayoshi’s private office at the bright hour… of six am. The slight mess on the desk and the wrinkles on the politicians clothes suggested that the man had ended up sleeping here last night. The pile of papers on the desk seemed frenzied. Something was wrong. Some key piece out of place, something the man had somehow failed to predict. Or that was Goro’s deduction from the state the office was in.

Eyes turned to look at the paper he’d been passed. It was a list of names. Stars placed by the ones that were urgent, others unmarked to show the timing didn’t matter as much. His left eye twitched as he read the names over a second time, committing them to memory.

“It almost looks like a spring cleaning list,” he jested. Folding the paper and tucking it away in his briefcase. “You’ve never given me more then two at a time. Why so many at once, this time?”

“The why doesn’t matter,” Shido growled, “all that matters is you get it done.”

“It does matter,” he paused, meeting the man’s eyes a moment before smiling, “sir.” He added. Showing respect, though inwardly cursing the man. “This many so swiftly is bound to draw attention. I would prefer to spread them out over the coming month at least, instead of doing them all together.”

“The ones marked need to be done within the next couple days. No deviating from that,” Shido ordered. “The others you can spread out, but the ones marked need to be done as swiftly as possible.”

“And… why…? Come now, I’m the detective prince who will be solving their deaths,” he purred, “I need a reason, something to use against them to help solve these cases swiftly, and without any tie to you.”

Shido pursed his lips, “You’re smart. You’ll figure it out.”

Goro’s hand tightened around the handle of his briefcase. “Of course sir.” He bowed stiffly then turned, leaving the office.

The different people who worked in the office were only starting to trickle into the building as Goro moved outside, taking a deep breath of the morning air before releasing. He moved to his cycle, unlocking it then getting on. Getting a workout as he cycled to the park, riding around the path there twice. By the time he finished his laps, different eating places were finally opening up for the day. Even if he’d been up for a few hours now, he had little appetite. A small bowl of sesame soba noodles, with an egg on top was enough to satisfy his appetite. It was more than he ate many mornings.

His phone was checked, screen unlocked and texts scrolled through.

**Akira:** Good morning handsome. How are you doing this morning?

Goro smiled absently.

 **Goro:** Good morning flirt. I’m… awake. Looks like I have a really busy day ahead, though. Won’t be able to use my phone much.

 **Akira:** That sucks. Think we can find time to get together this weekend? Maybe Sunday or something?

 **Goro:** I’m going to be pretty exhausted this weekend, I think. Though Sunday… maybe. We’ll talk about it later. Not sure how things are going to go.

 **Goro:** Just… I’d advise against using the subway much this evening.

 **Akira:** … another?

 **Goro:** Maybe Oracle can ah… take control of the 18:00 southbound. Make sure it stops smoothly, when the operator goes nuts. I can’t not do this, but maybe she can do something.

 **Akira:** Stay safe Goro. I’ll see what we can do on our end.

 **Goro:** Stay safe, yourself. I’ll be busy all day today, and likely called in to investigate tonight. So. Busy. Have a good day, kitten.

 **Akira:** Oooh, is that a pet name? I like it. _Purrrrrr._ Later handsome.

Goro chuckled, then sighed. Later… maybe. He wasn’t sure he’d be up to talking at all, later tonight. He tucked his phone away then moved to purchase some supplies. Needing to get a few healing items before he headed into the metaverse today.

Akira sighed, looking up from his phone a moment and moving off at the subway stop by the school. He frowned absently then started to walk, texting Futaba as he moved along.

**Akira:** Can you hack a subway?

 **Futaba:** Ooooh, now there’s a toughie. Sure. Can make them stop, go, reverse or whatever. Just best not to do it often, since most people wouldn’t be happy about that.

 **Akira:** Good. Now, here’s the issue…

That afternoon the exam grades were posted. Akira nodded absently when he was top of the class- no surprise really. He’d put in a lot of work last loop to learn everything, and at this point he knew all the material. That just made the fact Ryuji and Ann’s scores were so low kinda… sad. Come lunch time the group met up on the roof, helping Haru with the gardening and chatting over some things.

“I saw you were top of your class. Congrats Akira.” Haru smiled, her hair bouncing some as she nodded to him. “You’re doing so well!”

“He’s showin off,” Ryuji huffed.

“You’re not trying hard enough,” Makoto countered. “How do you expect to get anywhere when you don’t even try? Y-“

“Hey Ryuji,” Akira leaned forward, interrupting Makoto’s scolding. “Why don’t we make it a bit more fun, eh? Some challenges. It can go for you too Ann. Any time you get above a 90 on a test or a quiz in one of your classes, I’ll treat you to something. Get a 100, better treat.

Ryuji, I bet your mom would be really happy to see your grades going up- and I think you could make an awesome coach someday, if you work at it. You’ve got the skill, and you know what it takes to do well in track. That’s the sort of thing a team needs. You know what works, since you’ve done it yourself. If you figure out what you need to pursue that…”

Ryuji perked up. “Huh… you’re right, my ma would be happy if my grades went up.”

Akira smiled, “if you focus on what you want to accomplish, that helps motivate you to move forward, doesn’t it? You know what you want, so work towards it. Sure, some people would think that sports focus doesn’t need good grades but the best athletes know how to optimize. What food gives them the best energy, what’s better to eat before and after. What things drain their energy and so on. Understanding how your own body works helps you push it even further.”

“Never thought of it that way,” Ryuji mused.

Akira nodded, then turned his attention to Ann. “I know you love modeling. If you’re really serious about it, then make it a goal. You know some things you can do to improve. Think on ways your schoolwork can tie into that. If you’re fluent in multiple languages, higher chance of some overseas shoots being worked out. If you understand foods, and how your body works you know how to focus that. Understand art, what colors and styles go together…”

Ann sighed, slumping in her seat a bit. “Never thought about it that way. Half the time feels like everything we learn in school is just a bunch of useless crap.”

“Some of it is,” Morgana meowed.

Makoto scowled, looking offended at that comment, “There’s a use for everything we learn in school! Why-“

“Everyone finds uses in different ways,” Akira countered. “If I want to really get into gardening, I need to understand the weather cycles and math does come into play. While on the flip side, English I can take of leave. Different things have different uses. But it can be fun, finding ways to use what we learn in every day life.”

“I guess,” Ryuji didn’t sound very convinced. “I’ll think about it at least.”

“Hey, different stuff goes into being a phantom thief too,” Morgana chirped.

“That’s true,” Ann agreed, smiling a bit as she thought of that.

Akira chuckled and smiled, “No team meeting tonight. I got word there might be issues with the subway tonight… so best if we go straight home, not need to use the subways later. Futaba is going to try and do something to control the situation but… well, hard to say how that will go.”

Ryuji scowled, “You mean that jackass is causing another shutdown.” He pursed his lips at Akira’s glare. “How can you stand it man? He’s a killer.”

“I don’t like the killing,” Akira said carefully, “But I love him. I know the situation he’s in, and I’m more concerned about him, then anything. All of this… it’s got to be taking a toll on him.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes, “I doubt he’s losing any sleep over it at this point.”

Akira shook his head. “You’d be surprised. Just… don’t judge, until you have the full story.”

“Do _you_ have the full story?” Ryuji countered.

“Does anyone?” Akira shrugged, finishing his lunch.

Makoto grimaced. “I still want nothing to do with him. He-“

“He’s getting a chance. That’s final,” Akira said firmly. He rose, “and that is the end of that discussion.” He turned, looking at each team member that was there before sighing and heading back to class.

Sometimes they could be such numbskulls.

That evening Tokyo was surprisingly calm, until the 18:00 southbound subway started increasing in speed. The subway conductor had his hands gripped around the controls, his eyes black as he stared straight ahead, seemingly unaware of what was even going on. He pushed on the controls harder, making the subway go faster and faster.

The people inside gripped their seats and each other, trying to keep their balance as the subway jerked suddenly, losing a lot of its speed as if the brakes were hit hard. The conductor stumbled forward then back, balance lost from the sudden motion. Another jerk had the conductor flop onto the floor as the subway seemed to take control of itself. Slowing considerable as it reached the next platform. It almost stopped a short ways before the platform before crawling forward, going a touch too far then reversing. Finally coming to a stop in it’s proper place. The doors swung open and an alarm blared, signaling everyone to exit the subway in an orderly, but swift, fashion.

A medic team arrived a moment later, seeming confused by the fact they were called to tend to the conductor when no one had even checked on the man yet. They moved to the front of the train, soon lifting the man onto a stretcher and leaving with him. A few other medics arriving to check on the passengers, while police swooped in as well to check and ensure nothing had been tampered with.

It was a mess, but no lives were lost.

The news ran a short blurb on it, but without any casualties it didn’t hold the reporters attention.

Meanwhile Futaba sat in her room, a smug look on her face.


End file.
